621 results about "Gaze directions" patented technology

A method of determining an eye gaze direction of an observer is disclosed comprising the steps of: (a) capturing at least one image of the observer and determining a head pose angle of the observer; (b) utilizing the head pose angle to locate an expected eye position of the observer, and (c) analyzing the expected eye position to locate at least one eye of the observer and observing the location of the eye to determine the gaze direction.

User interface technology that provides feedback to the user based on the user's gaze and a secondary user input, such as a hand gesture, is provided. A camera-based tracking system may track the gaze direction of a user to detect which object displayed in the user interface is being viewed. The tracking system also recognizes hand or other body gestures to control the action or motion of that object, using, for example, a separate camera and / or sensor. The user interface is then updated based on the tracked gaze and gesture data to provide the feedback.

When detecting the position and gaze direction of eyes, a photo sensor (1) and light sources (2, 3) placed around a display (1) and a calculation and control unit (6) are used. One of the light sources is placed around the sensor and includes inner and outer elements (3′; 3″). When only the inner elements are illuminated, a strong bright eye effect in a captured image is obtained, this resulting in a simple detection of the pupils and thereby a safe determination of gaze direction. When only the outer elements and the outer light sources (2) are illuminated, a determination of the distance of the eye from the photo sensor is made. After it has been possible to determine the pupils in an image, in the following captured images only those areas around the pupils are evaluated where the images of the eyes are located. Which one of the eyes that is the left eye and the right eye can be determined by following the images of the eyes and evaluating the positions thereof in successively captured images.

A method of analyzing data based on the physiological orientation of a driver is provided. Data is descriptive of a driver's gaze-direction is processing and criteria defining a location of driver interest is determined. Based on the determined criteria, gaze-direction instances are classified as either on-location or off-location. The classified instances can then be used for further analysis, generally relating to times of elevated driver workload and not driver drowsiness. The classified instances are transformed into one of two binary values (e.g., 1 and 0) representative of whether the respective classified instance is on or off location. The uses of a binary value makes processing and analysis of the data faster and more efficient. Furthermore, classification of at least some of the off-location gaze direction instances can be inferred from the failure to meet the determined criteria for being classified as an on-location driver gaze direction instance.

The present invention is a method and system to provide an automatic measurement of people's responses to dynamic digital media, based on changes in their facial expressions and attention to specific content. First, the method detects and tracks faces from the audience. It then localizes each of the faces and facial features to extract emotion-sensitive features of the face by applying emotion-sensitive feature filters, to determine the facial muscle actions of the face based on the extracted emotion-sensitive features. The changes in facial muscle actions are then converted to the changes in affective state, called an emotion trajectory. On the other hand, the method also estimates eye gaze based on extracted eye images and three-dimensional facial pose of the face based on localized facial images. The gaze direction of the person, is estimated based on the estimated eye gaze and the three-dimensional facial pose of the person. The gaze target on the media display is then estimated based on the estimated gaze direction and the position of the person. Finally, the response of the person to the dynamic digital media content is determined by analyzing the emotion trajectory in relation to the time and screen positions of the specific digital media sub-content that the person is watching.

Methods and systems for adapting a display screen output based on a display user's attention. Gaze direction tracking is employed to determine a sub-region of a display screen area to which a user is attending. Display of the attended sub-region is modified relative to the remainder of the display screen, for example, by changing the quantity of data representing an object displayed within the attended sub-region relative to an object displayed in an unattended sub-region of the display screen.

A portable electronic equipment comprises a speech to text conversion module configured to generate a text by performing a speech to text conversion. A gaze tracking device is configured to track an eye gaze direction of a user on a display on which the text is displayed. The portable electronic equipment is configured to selectively activate a text editing function based on the tracked eye gaze direction.

A software controlled user interface and method for an eye gaze controlled device, designed to accommodate angular accuracy versus time averaging tradeoffs for eye gaze direction sensors. The method can scale between displaying a small to large number of different eye gaze target symbols at any given time, yet still transmit a large array of different symbols to outside devices with minimal user training. At least part of the method may be implemented by way of a virtual window onto the surface of a virtual cylinder, with eye gaze sensitive symbols that can be rotated by eye gaze thus bringing various groups of symbols into view, and then selected by continual gazing. Specific examples of use of this interface and method on an eyeglasses-like head-mountable, vision-controlled, device are disclosed, along with various operation examples including sending and receiving text messages, control of robotic devices and control of remote vehicles.

A system for controlling the automatic scrolling of information on a computer display or screen is disclosed. The system includes a gimbaled sensor system for following the position of the user's head and user's eye, and scroll activating interface algorithm to find screen gaze coordinates implemented so the scrolling function is performed based upon the screen gaze coordinates of the user's eye relative to a certain activation area(s) on the display or screen. A method of controlling automatic scrolling of information on a display or screen by a user is also disclosed. The method generally includes the acts of finding a screen gaze coordinate on the display or screen of the user, determining whether the screen gaze coordinate is within at least one activated control region, and activating scrolling to provide a desired display of information when the gaze direction is within at least one activated control region.

A system for controlling the automatic scrolling of information includes a screen, a computer system, gimbaled sensor system for following and tracking the position and movement of the user's head and user's eye, and a scroll activating interface algorithm using a neural network to find screen gaze coordinates implemented by the computer system so that scrolling function is performance based upon the screen gaze coordinates of the user's eye relative to a certain activation area on the screen. A method of controlling scrolling includes the acts of finding a screen gaze coordinates on the screen, determining whether the screen gaze coordinate is within at least one activated control region, and activating scrolling to provide a display of information when the gaze direction is within at least one activated control region.

Image capture systems, devices, and methods that automatically focus on objects in the user's field of view based on where the user is looking / gazing are described. The image capture system includes an eye tracker subsystem in communication with an autofocus camera to facilitate effortless and precise focusing of the autofocus camera on objects of interest to the user. The autofocus camera automatically focuses on what the user is looking at based on gaze direction determined by the eye tracker subsystem and one or more focus property(ies) of the object, such as its physical distance or light characteristics such as contrast and / or phase. The image capture system is particularly well-suited for use in a wearable heads-up display to capture focused images of objects in the user's field of view with minimal intervention from the user.

A system 10 for controlling the automatic scrolling of information on a computer display or screen 12 is disclosed. The system 10 generally includes a computer display or screen 12, a computer system 14, gimbaled sensor system 16 for following and tracking the position and movement of the user's head 18 and user's eye 20, and a scroll activating interface algorithm using a neural network to find screen gaze coordinates implemented by the computer system 14 so that corresponding scrolling function is performed based upon the screen gaze coordinates of the user's eye 20 relative to a certain activation area(s) on the display or screen 12. The gimbaled sensor system 16 contains a gimbaled platform 24 mounted at the top of the display or screen 12. The gimbaled sensor system 16 tracks the user's 22 head 18 and eye 20, allows the user to be free from any attachments while the gimbaled sensor system 16 is eye tracking, and still allows the user to freely move his or her head when the system 10 is in use. A method of controlling automatic scrolling of information on a display or screen 12 by a user 22 is also disclosed. The method generally includes the steps of finding a screen gaze coordinate 146 on the display or screen 12 of the user 22, determining whether the screen gaze coordinate 146 is within at least one activated control region, and activating scrolling to provide a desired display of information when the gaze direction is within at least one activated control region. In one embodiment, the control regions are defined as upper control region 208, lower region 210, right region 212, and left region 214 for controlling the scrolling respectively in the downward, upward, leftward, and rightward directions. In another embodiment, the control regions are defined by concentric rings 306, 308, and 310 for maintaining the stationary position of the information or controlling the scrolling of the information towards the center of the display or screen 12.

Systems, devices, and methods for proximity-based eye tracking are described. A proximity sensor positioned near the eye monitors the distance to the eye, which varies depending on the position of the corneal bulge. The corneal bulge protrudes outward from the surface of the eye and so, all other things being equal, a static proximity sensor detects a shorter distance to the eye when the cornea is directed towards the proximity sensor and a longer distance to the eye when the cornea is directed away from the proximity sensor. Optical proximity sensors that operate with infrared light are used as a non-limiting example of proximity sensors. Multiple proximity sensors may be used and processed simultaneously in order to provide a more accurate / precise determination of the gaze direction of the user. Implementations in which proximity-based eye trackers are incorporated into wearable heads-up displays are described.

User interface technology that provides feedback to the user based on the user's gaze and a secondary user input, such as a hand gesture, is provided. A camera-based tracking system may track the gaze direction of a user to detect which object displayed in the user interface is being viewed. The tracking system also recognizes hand or other body gestures to control the action or motion of that object, using, for example, a separate camera and / or sensor. The user interface is then updated based on the tracked gaze and gesture data to provide the feedback.

A method of improving stereo video viewing comfort is provided that includes capturing a video sequence of eyes of an observer viewing a stereo video sequence on a stereoscopic display, estimating gaze direction of the eyes from the video sequence, and manipulating stereo images in the stereo video sequence based on the estimated gaze direction, whereby viewing comfort of the observer is improved.