Low-cost non-imaging eye tracker system for computer control

• US 6,299,308 B1
• Filed: 03/31/2000
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jolly Seven, Series 70 of Allied Security Trust I (Allied Security Trust)
• Original Assignee: Cybernet Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Voronka, Nestor, Jacobus, Charles J.
• Primary Examiner(s): MANUEL, GEORGE C
• Application Number:
  US09/540,314
• Time in Patent Office: 557 Days
• Field of Search: 351/208, 351/209, 351/210, 351/221, 702/150, 359/629, 359/630, 382/103, 382/291, 606/10, 606/11, 606/12
• US Class Current: 351/210
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence

Abstract

A device for measuring eye movements is suitable for stand-alone, portable use and for integration into a head/helmet mounted display. The low-cost non-imaging eye tracking system is optimized toward the applications requiring computer cursor control by localizing the gaze direction as an operator looks through a fixed frame to provide pointing information to a computer.

Claims

1. An eye tracking system, comprising:

a transparent aperture;

at least one infrared light-emitting diode (LED) mounted on the aperture, the LED being positioned to illuminate an exposed eye surface of a user so as to produce a Purkinje reflection;

at least one photodetector mounted on the aperture to detect the Purkinje reflection; and

electronics for processing the signal from the photodetector to determine eye movement in two dimensions.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the photodetector is an infrared sensitive photodiode.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the transparent aperture is mounted on a frame, the system further including one or more pairs of photodetectors disposed along a measurement axis on opposite sides of the frame.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the LED is disposed along the perpendicular bisector of the measurement axis.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the electronics for processing the signal is interfaced to a display screen, and the determination of the eye movement is used to control a pointing device on the display screen.

6. The system of claim 1, further including a head tracker for determining the location of the user'"'"'s head.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the head tracker includes a plurality of photoemitters and photodetectors mounted relative to a display screen.