Estimating and using relative head pose and camera field-of-view

• US 10,419,655 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snap-Aid Patents LTD.
• Original Assignee: Snap-Aid Patents LTD.
• Inventors: Sivan, Ishay
• Primary Examiner(s): Tissire, Abdelaaziz
• Application Number:
  US15/567,088
• Publication Number:
  US 20190182415A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,246 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A video or still hand-held digital camera is activated or controlled based on estimation of a user head pose or gaze direction. The system comprises uses two wearable devices associated with right and left sides of the user body, each comprises an RF beacon. The head pose or gaze detection is estimated by comparing the signal strength (such as RSSI) or the phase of the RF signals from the wearable devices at the digital camera device. An angular deviation between the head pose (or gaze detection) and the digital camera (such as the line of sight) is estimated, and the digital camera is activated or controlled based on comparing the angular deviation to a set threshold. The RF signals may be Personal Area Network (PAN) signals, such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals. The wearable devices may be head mounted, structured as glasses, earpieces, headphones, or hat mounted.

Claims

1. A system for controlling or activating a component in response to an estimated head pose of a person by measuring signal attenuation induced by part of the propagation path being through the human head, the system comprising:

a first device comprising;

a first antenna for transmitting a first Radio-Frequency (RF) signal over the air;

a first wireless transmitter coupled to the first antenna for producing the first RF signal;

a first power source for electrically powering the first wireless transmitter; and

a first enclosure housing the first power source and the first wireless transmitter;

a second device comprising;

a second antenna for transmitting a second Radio-Frequency (RF) signal over the air;

a second wireless transmitter coupled to the second antenna for producing the second RF signal;

a second power source for electrically powering the second wireless transmitter; and

a second enclosure housing the second power source and the second wireless transmitter; and

a third device comprising;

a third antenna for receiving the first and second Radio-Frequency (RF) signals over the air;

a wireless receiver coupled to the third antenna for receiving first and second RF signals corresponding to the transmitted first and second Radio-Frequency (RF) signals;

a comparator for comparing the received first and second RF signals;

the component;

a third power source for electrically powering the wireless receiver and the comparator; and

a third enclosure housing the wireless receiver, the comparator, the component, and the third power source,

wherein the first and second devices are head wearable so that when worn by the person and used with the third device, the first or second RF signal is at least in part absorbed by the person body when propagated from the respective first or second antenna to the third antenna;

wherein the third device is further operative to estimate the head pose based on the difference between the first and second in-body propagation path lengths of the respective first and second RF signals, by taking into account that the speed of light inside the human head is ¾

the speed of light in a vacuum or air or by taking into account the signal attenuation inside a human head versus the attenuation in vacuum or air;

wherein the component is controlled or activated in response to the estimated head pose.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the third device is further operative to estimate the head pose based on the difference between the first and second in-body propagation path lengths of the respective first and second RF signals by taking into account the signal attenuation inside a human head versus the attenuation in vacuum or air.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first device or the second device further comprises a memory or a non-transitory tangible computer readable storage media for storing computer executable instructions, and a processor for executing the instructions.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the component is controlled to be activated, initiated, stopped, operated, or inhibited from operation, in response to a comparison between the received first and second RF signals.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first device is identical to the second device.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first device is distinct from the second device.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second RF signals use the same frequency, the same modulation, the same physical later, or are according to same protocol or standard.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first device is wearable on a left side of a person and the second device is wearable on a right side of the person.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the first device is wearable on the left side of the person head and the second device is wearable on the right side of the person head.

10. The system according to claim 9, further operative to estimate or calculate the person head pose using, or based on, the comparing of the received first and second RF signals.

11. The system according to claim 9, wherein the first device is wearable on a first organ on the left side of the person head and the second device is wearable on a second organ on the right side of the person head.

12. The system according to claim 9, wherein the first or second organ is an eye, ear, face, cheek, nose, mouth, lip, forehead, or chin.

13. The system according to claim 8, wherein each of the first enclosure and the second enclosure is constructed to have a form substantially similar to, is constructed to have a shape allowing mounting or wearing identical or similar to, or is constructed to have a form to at least in part substitute for, headwear, eyewear, or earpiece.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the headwear consists of, structured as, or comprises, a bonnet, a cap, a crown, a fillet, a hair cover, a hat, a helmet, a hood, a mask, a turban, a veil, or a wig.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein the eyewear consists of, structured as, or comprises, glasses, sunglasses, a contact lens, a blindfold, or a goggle.

16. The system according to claim 13, wherein the earpiece consists of, structured as, or comprises, a hearing aid, a headphone, a headset, or an earplug.

17. The system according to claim 8, wherein each of the first enclosure and the second enclosure is permanently or releseably attachable to, or is part of, a clothing piece of a person.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the attaching uses taping, gluing, pinning, enclosing, encapsulating, a pin, or a latch and hook clip.

19. The system according to claim 17, wherein the clothing piece is a top, bottom, or full-body underwear, or a headwear, a footwear, an accessory, an outwear, a suit, a dress, a skirt, or a top.

20. The system according to claim 1, wherein the third enclosure is a portable or a hand-held enclosure and the third power source is a battery.

21. The system according to claim 14, wherein the third device or the component consists of, or comprises, a notebook, a laptop computer, a media player, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).

22. The system according to claim 21, wherein the third device or the component comprises a memory for storing software, and a processor for executing the software.

23. The system according to claim 14, wherein the third device or the component consists of, or comprises, a digital camera.

24. The system according to claim 23, wherein the digital camera consists of, or comprises, a Digital Still Camera (DSC), and the digital camera is controlled to capture an image or is inhibited from capturing an image in response to comparing the received first and second RF signals.

25. The system according to claim 23, wherein the digital camera consists of, or comprises, a Digital Video Camera (DVC), and the digital camera is controlled to start or stop video recording, or to be inhibited from video recording in response to comparing the received first and second RF signals.

26. The system according to claim 23, wherein the controlling of the digital camera includes changing a setting of the digital camera.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the setting is an aperture size, exposure time, focal length, or exposure index of the digital camera.

28. The system according to claim 23, wherein the digital camera comprises:

an optical lens for focusing received light, the lens being mechanically oriented to guide a captured image;

a photosensitive image sensor array disposed approximately at an image focal point plane of the optical lens for capturing the image and producing an analog signal representing the image; and

an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter coupled to the image sensor array for converting the analog signal to a digital data representation of the captured image.

29. The system according to claim 28, wherein the image sensor array is operative to respond to a visible or non-visible light.

30. The system according to claim 28, wherein the invisible light is infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, or gamma rays.

31. The system according to claim 28, wherein the image sensor array uses, or is based on, semiconductor elements that use the photoelectric or photovoltaic effect.

32. The system according to claim 31, wherein the image sensor array uses, comprises, or is based on, Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD) or Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Devices (CMOS) elements.

33. The system according to claim 28, wherein the digital camera further comprises an image processor coupled to the image sensor array for providing a digital video data signal according to a digital video format, the digital video signal carrying digital data video that comprise, or is based on, the captured images.

34. The system according to claim 33, wherein the digital video format uses, is compatible with, or is based on, one of:

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), RAW format, AVI, DV, MOV, WMV, MP4, DCF (Design Rule for Camera Format), ITU-T H.261, ITU-T H.263, ITU-T H.264, ITU-T CCIR 601, ASF, Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format), and DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) standards.

35. The system according to claim 33, wherein the digital camera further comprises a video compressor coupled to the image sensor array for compressing the digital data video.

36. The system according to claim 1, for use with a wireless network, wherein the first, second, and third devices respectively comprise a first, second, and third wireless transceivers and communicate over the wireless network respectively using the first, second, and third wireless transceivers, the first wireless transmitter is part of the first wireless transceiver, the second wireless transmitter is part of the second wireless transceiver, and the wireless receiver is part of the third wireless transceiver.

37. The system according to claim 36, wherein the wireless network is a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), each of the wireless transceivers is a WPAN transceiver, and each of the first, second, and third antennas is a WPAN antenna.

38. The system according to claim 37, wherein the WPAN is according to, compatible with, or based on, Bluetooth™

or IEEE 802.15.1-2005 standards, or wherein the WPAN is a wireless control network that is according to, or based on, Zigbee™

, IEEE 802.15.4-2003, or Z-Wave™

standards.

39. The system according to claim 38, wherein the WPAN is according to, compatible with, or based on, Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE).

40. The system according to claim 36, wherein the wireless network is a cellular telephone network, each of the wireless transceivers is a cellular modem, and each of the first, second, and third antennas is a cellular antenna.

41. The system according to claim 36, wherein the wireless network is over a licensed or unlicensed radio frequency band.

42. The system according to claim 1, wherein the wireless receiver is operative to extract or measure a parameter, feature, or a characteristic from each of the received first and second RF signals, and wherein the comparison is based on comparing the extracted parameters, features, or characteristics.

43. The system according to claim 42, wherein the extracted or measured parameters, features, or characteristics are responsive to propagation paths from the respective first and second antenna to the third antenna.

44. The system according to claim 43, wherein the extracted or measured parameters, features, or characteristics are responsive to length of the propagation paths, to the relative direction of the propagation paths, or to an RF energy-absorbing elements along the propagation paths.

45. The system according to claim 44, wherein the comparing comprises calculating a difference between the extracted or measured parameters, features, or characteristics of the received first and second RF signals.

46. The system according to claim 45, further for use with a minimum or maximum threshold, and wherein the component is controlled in response to comparing the difference to the minimum or maximum threshold.

47. The system according to claim 45, for use with a time interval, wherein the component is controlled in response to the difference being above the minimum threshold or below the maximum threshold during the time interval.

48. The system according to claim 42, wherein the extracted or measured parameters, features, or characteristics comprises, or is responsive to, signal strengths of the received first and second RF signals.

49. The system according to claim 48, wherein the signal strengths is using, or is based on, the respective Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI).

50. The system according to claim 49, further operative to estimate the distance between the first or second device to third device using the signal strengths of the received first and second RF signals.

51. The system according to claim 49, wherein the RF signals are using, or are based on, Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE), and wherein the system is further operative to measure the signal strength by using, or based on, Apple iBeacon.

52. The system according to claim 48, wherein the comparing comprises calculating a difference between the signal strengths of the received first and second RF signals.

53. The system according to claim 52, further for use with a minimum or maximum threshold, and wherein the component is controlled in response to comparing the difference to the minimum or maximum threshold.

54. The system according to claim 53, wherein the system is operative to start, stop, or inhibit the component operation when the calculated difference is above the minimum threshold or is below the maximum threshold.

55. The system according to claim 1, wherein the third device further comprises a memory or a non-transitory tangible computer readable storage media for storing computer executable instructions, and a processor for executing the instructions, wherein the first device continuously transmits the first RF signal and the second device continuously transmits the second RF signal, and wherein the first and second antennas are spatially parallel to each other.