EYE DETECTION UNIT USING SEQUENTIAL DATA FLOW
First Claim
1. An eye detection system comprising:
- at least one illuminator element adapted to emit light in a direction towards the head of a user;
at least one image sensor being adapted to receive light from the illuminated head of a user and repeatedly capture pictures, each being represented by a digital image frame comprising a matrix of picture elements;
a plurality of eye detection units connected to said image sensor, said eye detection units being adapted to receive subsets of picture elements of a digital image frame substantially in parallel and wherein said eye detection units are adapted to operate substantially in parallel, each eye detection unit being adapted to receive a selected subset of the picture elements of at least one digital image frame and including an eye feature extraction module adapted to perform a eye feature extraction process on the received picture elements to identify predetermined eye features; and
an eye data generating module connected to said eye detection units and being adapted to;
receive information of potential identified eye features from said eye detection units, said information including picture element coordinates for said identified eye features, and the received region of picture elements,generate eye data based on said information of potential eye features, wherein said eye data is generated if identified eye features fulfil predetermined conditions, andtransfer generated eye data and the received regions of picture elements to a processing module, and wherein a data flow of said eye data and the region of picture elements of a digital image frame is substantially parallel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention generally relates to systems and methods for eye detection for use in, for example, installations and systems for tracking eyes and gaze angle/directions. The system includes a plurality of eye detection units connected to an image sensor. The eye detection units are adapted to receive regions of picture elements of a digital image frame substantially in parallel and wherein the eye detection units are adapted to operate substantially in parallel, each eye detection unit being adapted to receive a specified region of the picture elements of at least one digital image frame and including an eye feature extraction module adapted to perform a eye feature extraction process on the received picture elements to identify predetermined eye features. An eye data generating module is adapted to receive information of potential identified eye features including picture element coordinates for the identified eye features, and the received region of picture elements, and generate eye data based on the information of potential eye features, wherein the eye data is generated if identified eye features fulfil predetermined conditions, and transfer generated eye data and the received regions of picture elements to a processing module, and wherein a data flow of the eye data and the region of picture elements of a digital image frame is substantially parallel.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An eye detection system comprising:
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at least one illuminator element adapted to emit light in a direction towards the head of a user; at least one image sensor being adapted to receive light from the illuminated head of a user and repeatedly capture pictures, each being represented by a digital image frame comprising a matrix of picture elements; a plurality of eye detection units connected to said image sensor, said eye detection units being adapted to receive subsets of picture elements of a digital image frame substantially in parallel and wherein said eye detection units are adapted to operate substantially in parallel, each eye detection unit being adapted to receive a selected subset of the picture elements of at least one digital image frame and including an eye feature extraction module adapted to perform a eye feature extraction process on the received picture elements to identify predetermined eye features; and an eye data generating module connected to said eye detection units and being adapted to; receive information of potential identified eye features from said eye detection units, said information including picture element coordinates for said identified eye features, and the received region of picture elements, generate eye data based on said information of potential eye features, wherein said eye data is generated if identified eye features fulfil predetermined conditions, and transfer generated eye data and the received regions of picture elements to a processing module, and wherein a data flow of said eye data and the region of picture elements of a digital image frame is substantially parallel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for detecting an eye using an eye detection system comprising at least one illuminator element adapted to emit light in a direction towards the head of a user;
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and at least one image sensor being adapted to receive light from the illuminated head of a user and repeatedly capture pictures, each picture being represented by a digital image frame comprising a matrix of picture elements, said method comprising the steps of; providing selected subsets of picture elements of a digital image frame in parallel to a plurality of eye detection units; performing parallel eye feature extraction processes on the received picture elements to identify predetermined eye features in said selected subsets in eye feature extracting modules; sending information of potential identified eye features from said eye detection units, said information including picture element coordinates for said identified eye features, and the received region of picture elements to an eye data generating module; generating eye data based on said information of potential eye features, wherein said eye data is generated if identified eye features fulfil predetermined conditions; and transferring generated eye data and the received regions of picture elements to a processing module, and wherein a data flow of said eye data and the region of picture elements of a digital image frame is substantially parallel. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An eye detection system comprising:
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a plurality of eye detection units connectable to at least one image sensor being adapted to receive light from the illuminated head of a user and repeatedly capture pictures, each being represented by a digital image frame comprising a matrix of picture elements, said eye detection units being adapted to receive subsets of picture elements of a digital image frame substantially in parallel and wherein said eye detection units are adapted to operate substantially in parallel, each eye detection unit being adapted to receive a selected subset of the picture elements of at least one digital image frame and including an eye feature extraction module adapted to perform a eye feature extraction process on the received picture elements to identify predetermined eye features; and an eye data generating module connected to said eye detection units and being adapted to; receive information of potential identified eye features from said eye detection units, said information including picture element coordinates for said identified eye features, and the received region of picture elements, generate eye data based on said information of potential eye features, wherein said eye data is generated if identified eye features fulfil predetermined conditions, and transfer generated eye data and the received regions of picture elements to a processing module, and wherein a data flow of said eye data and the region of picture elements of a digital image frame is substantially parallel. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification