Gaze Signal Based on Physical Characteristics of the Eye

• US 20150097772A1
• Filed: 11/09/2012
• Published: 04/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Starner, Thad Eugene
• Application Number:
  US13/673,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20150097772A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/158
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0178 Eyeglass type eyeglass details G02C
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence

Abstract

A computing device may receive an eye-tracking signal or gaze signal from an eye-tracking device. The gaze signal may include information indicative of observed movement of an eye. The computing device may make a determination that movement of the eye derived from analyzing the received gaze signal violates a set of rules for eye movement, where the set of rules may be based on an analytical model of eye movement. In response to making the determination, the computing device may provide an indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input.

Claims

1. In a computing device, a computer-implemented method comprising:

at the computing device, receiving a gaze signal from an eye-tracking device, the gaze signal including information indicative of observed movement of an eye;

at the computing device, making a determination that movement of the eye derived from analyzing the received gaze signal violates a set of rules for eye movement, the set of rules being based on an analytical model of eye movement, wherein eye mass is one of one or more physical parameters of the analytical model of eye movement; and

responsive to making the determination, providing an indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analytical model of eye movement includes additional physical parameters, the additional physical parameters being at least one of mass of an eyelid, a minimum speed of eye movement, a maximum speed of eye movement, a physical force to which an eye is subject.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the set of rules for eye movement includes model movement parameters, the model movement parameters being at least one of a minimum visual angular variation in saccade movement, a maximum visual angular variation in saccade movement, a maximum visual angle of eye movement, a minimum duration of saccade movement, a maximum duration of saccade movement, a maximum occurrence frequency of eye movements, and a minimum time interval separating any two consecutive saccade movements.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein making the determination comprises:

determining a measured movement parameter from the gaze signal, the measured movement parameter being one of a measured visual angular variation in saccade movement, a measured visual angle of eye movement, a measured duration of saccade movement, a measured occurrence frequency of eye movements, and a measured time interval separating two consecutive saccade movements; and

determining that the measured movement parameter either exceeds a maximum or falls below a minimum of a corresponding one of the model movement parameters.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input comprises:

causing the at least one computer-implemented application to cease operating.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one computer-implemented application is a Kalman filter that is applied to the gaze signal,

and wherein providing the indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input comprises turning the Kalman filter off.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input comprises:

causing the eye-tracking device to recalibrate.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

subsequent to making the determination, receiving a subsequent gaze signal;

making a subsequent determination that movement of the eye derived from analyzing the received subsequent gaze signal does not violate the set of rules for eye movement; and

responsive to making the subsequent determination, providing a subsequent indication that the received subsequent gaze signal contains reliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein providing the subsequent indication that the received subsequent gaze signal contains reliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input comprises:

if the at least one computer-implemented application ceased operating in response to the indication, causing the at least one computer-implemented application to commence operating.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the eye-tracking device is part of a wearable computing device,

and wherein providing the indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input comprises:

causing the wearable computing device to issue a notification that eye-tracking functionality has become unreliable.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the eye-tracking device is part of a wearable computing device,

and wherein providing the indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input comprises:

causing the wearable computing device to issue a notification that eye-tracking functionality has been disabled.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein causing the wearable computing device to issue the notification that eye-tracking functionality has been disabled comprises causing the wearable computing device to issue a notification that the at least one computer-implemented application on the wearable computing device that uses measured eye movement as an input has been disabled.

13. A computing device comprising:

one or more processors;

memory; and

machine-readable instructions stored in the memory, that upon execution by the one or more processors cause the system to carry out operations comprising;

receiving a gaze signal from an eye-tracking device, wherein the gaze signal includes information indicative of observed movement of an eye,

making a determination that movement of the eye derived from analyzing the received gaze signal violates a set of rules for eye movement, wherein the set of rules is based on an analytical model of eye movement, wherein eye mass is one of one or more physical parameters of the analytical model of eye movement, and

responding to making the determination by providing an indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input.

14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein the analytical model of eye movement includes additional physical parameters, the additional physical parameters being at least one of mass of an eyelid, a minimum speed of eye movement, a maximum speed of eye movement, a physical force to which an eye is subject,

and wherein the set of rules for eye movement includes model movement parameters, the model movement parameters being at least one of a minimum visual angular variation in saccade movement, a maximum visual angular variation in saccade movement, a maximum visual angle of eye movement, a minimum duration of saccade movement, a maximum duration of saccade movement, a maximum occurrence frequency of eye movements, and a minimum time interval separating any two consecutive saccade movements.

15. The computing device of claim 14, wherein making the determination comprises:

determining a measured movement parameter from the gaze signal, the measured movement parameter being one of a measured visual angular variation in saccade movement, a measured visual angle of eye movement, a measured duration of saccade movement, a measured occurrence frequency of eye movements, and a measured time interval separating two consecutive saccade movements; and

determining that the measured movement parameter either exceeds a maximum or falls below a minimum of a corresponding one of the model movement parameters.

16. The computing device of claim 13, wherein providing the indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input comprises:

causing the computing device to issue a notification, the notification being least one of a message that eye-tracking functionality has become unreliable or a message that eye-tracking functionality has been disabled.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by one or more processors of a computing device, cause the computing device to carry out operations comprising:

at the computing device, receiving a gaze signal from an eye-tracking device, wherein the gaze signal includes information indicative of observed movement of an eye;

at the computing device, making a determination that movement of the eye derived from analyzing the received gaze signal violates a set of rules for eye movement, wherein the set of rules is based on an analytical model of eye movement, wherein eye mass is one of one or more physical parameters of the analytical model of eye movement; and

responsive to making the determination, providing an indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the analytical model of eye movement includes additional physical parameters, the additional physical parameters being at least one of mass of an eyelid, a minimum speed of eye movement, a maximum speed of eye movement, a physical force to which an eye is subject,

and wherein the set of rules for eye movement includes model movement parameters, the model movement parameters being at least one of a minimum visual angular variation in saccade movement, a maximum visual angular variation in saccade movement, a maximum visual angle of eye movement, a minimum duration of saccade movement, a maximum duration of saccade movement, a maximum occurrence frequency of eye movements, and a minimum time interval separating any two consecutive saccade movements,

and wherein making the determination comprises:

determining a measured movement parameter from the gaze signal, the measured movement parameter being one of a measured visual angular variation in saccade movement, a measured visual angle of eye movement, a measured duration of saccade movement, a measured occurrence frequency of eye movements, and a measured time interval separating two consecutive saccade movements; and

determining that the measured movement parameter either exceeds a maximum or falls below a minimum of a corresponding one of the model movement parameters.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the at least one computer-implemented application is a Kalman filter that is applied to the gaze signal,

and wherein providing the indication that the received gaze signal contains unreliable eye-movement information for the at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input comprises turning the Kalman filter off.

20. A wearable computing system comprising:

an interface for a head-mountable display (HMD), wherein the HMD is configured to display information;

an interface for a first sensor configured to obtain eye-movement data; and

a processor configured to;

compare the eye-movement data to one or more rules for eye movement, wherein the one or more rules are based on physical parameters of an eye, the physical parameters including at least eye mass; and

responsive to determining that the eye-movement data violates at least one of the one or more rules, provide an indication that the eye-movement data is unreliable for at least one computer-implemented application that uses measured eye movement as an input.