Head mounted eye tracking and display system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. System for tracking the eye of a user, the system comprising:
- an image detector, directed at said eye, for detecting an eye image of at least said eye;
at least one pupil-illuminating light source, each said at least one pupil-illuminating light source emitting a respective pupil-illuminating light beam, each said pupil-illuminating light beam having at least a portion being directed at the pupil of said eye, the portion being aligned with the optical axis of said image detector and at least partially illuminating the pupil of said eye;
at least one reference light source that differs from said pupil-illuminating light source, each said at least one reference light source emitting a respective reference light beam, for illuminating a portion of the face of said user; and
an imaging processor, coupled with said image detector, for analyzing said eye image,wherein at least a portion of each of said at least one pupil-illuminating light beam is reflected towards said image detector, thereby indicating a pupil region in said eye image, said pupil region being associated with said pupil,wherein at least a portion of each of said at least one reference light beam is reflected towards said image detector, thereby indicating at least one reference region in said eye image, each said reference region being associated with a recognizable portion of the face,wherein said imaging processor identifies said pupil region and at least one of said at least one reference region, andwherein said imaging processor determines the line of sight of said user according to said pupil region and according to at least one of said at least one reference region.
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Abstract
A system for eye tracking that determines the line of sight of a user according to the relative position between the center of the pupil and a reference point, the system including an image detector that captures an image of the eye, a pupil-illuminating light source that illuminates the pupil of the user, a reference light source that illuminates a different portion of the face of the user as a reference point and an imaging processor that analyzes the captured eye image to determine the line of sight.
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Citations
53 Claims
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1. System for tracking the eye of a user, the system comprising:
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an image detector, directed at said eye, for detecting an eye image of at least said eye; at least one pupil-illuminating light source, each said at least one pupil-illuminating light source emitting a respective pupil-illuminating light beam, each said pupil-illuminating light beam having at least a portion being directed at the pupil of said eye, the portion being aligned with the optical axis of said image detector and at least partially illuminating the pupil of said eye; at least one reference light source that differs from said pupil-illuminating light source, each said at least one reference light source emitting a respective reference light beam, for illuminating a portion of the face of said user; and an imaging processor, coupled with said image detector, for analyzing said eye image, wherein at least a portion of each of said at least one pupil-illuminating light beam is reflected towards said image detector, thereby indicating a pupil region in said eye image, said pupil region being associated with said pupil, wherein at least a portion of each of said at least one reference light beam is reflected towards said image detector, thereby indicating at least one reference region in said eye image, each said reference region being associated with a recognizable portion of the face, wherein said imaging processor identifies said pupil region and at least one of said at least one reference region, and wherein said imaging processor determines the line of sight of said user according to said pupil region and according to at least one of said at least one reference region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. Method for tracking the eye of a user, the method comprising the procedures of:
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emitting at least one pupil-illuminating light beam, each said at least one pupil-illuminating light beam having at least a portion being directed at the eye, the portion being aligned with an optical axis of an image detector and at least partially illuminating the pupil of said eye; emitting at least one reference light beam differing from said pupil-illuminating light beam, for illuminating a portion of the face of said user; detecting an eye image of at least said eye, around the optical axis of the image detector; identifying in said eye image a pupil region and at least one reference region associated with a recognizable portion of the face; and determining the line of sight of said user according to said pupil region and according to at least one of said at least one reference region, wherein at least a portion of said at least one pupil-illuminating light beam indicates said pupil region in said eye image, wherein at least a portion of each of said at least one reference light beam indicates said at least one reference region in said eye image, and wherein said line of sight is determined according to said pupil region and according to at least one of said at least one reference region. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
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52. System for directing a weapon toward a target, the system comprising:
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an eye tracker for tracking the eye of a user; a head position tracker for monitoring at least the position of the head of said user; a vehicle position and orientation tracker for monitoring the position and orientation of a vehicle; and a processor coupled with said eye tracker, said head position tracker and with said vehicle position and orientation tracker, wherein said eye tracker comprises; an image detector directed at said eye, for detecting an eye image of at least said eye; at least one pupil-illuminating light source, each said at least one pupil-illuminating light source emitting a respective pupil-illuminating light beam, at least a portion of each said pupil-illuminating light beam being aligned with at least a portion of the optical axis of said image detector, each said pupil-illuminating light beam at least partially illuminating the pupil of said eye; at least one reference light source, each said at least one reference light source emitting a respective reference light beam, for illuminating a portion of the face of said user; and an imaging processor, coupled with said image detector, for analyzing said eye image, wherein at least a portion of each of said at least one pupil-illuminating light beam is reflected towards said image detector, thereby indicating a pupil region in said eye image, said pupil region being associated with said pupil, wherein at least a portion of each of said at least one reference light beam is reflected towards said image detector, thereby indicating at least one reference region in said eye image, each said reference region being associated with a recognizable portion of said face, wherein said imaging processor identifies said pupil region and at least one of said at least one reference region, wherein said imaging processor determines the line of sight of said user according to said pupil region and according to at least one of said at least one reference region, and wherein said processor directs said weapon toward said target according to said line of sight, said at least position of said head and according to said position and orientation of said vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (53)
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Specification