System and method for tracking eyeball motion

• US 8,177,363 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2010
• Issued: 05/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aeva, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Digital Signal Corporation (StereoVision Imaging, Inc.)
• Inventors: Belsley, Kendall L., Sebastian, Richard Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Jones, James
• Application Number:
  US12/762,772
• Publication Number:
  US 20100201945A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 351/209, 382/102
• US Class Current: 351/209
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/00 Apparatus for testing the eyes; Instruments for examining the eyes eye inspection using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves A61B8/10; devices for treatment of the eyes A61F9/00; exercisers for the eyes A61H5/00; optical systems in general G02B
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/113 for determining or recording eye movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/14 Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/145 by video means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0077 Devices for viewing the surface of the body, e.g. camera, magnifying lens
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/11 Measuring movement of the entire body or parts thereof, e.g. head or hand tremor, mobility of a limb for measuring pulse A61B5/02 ;A61B5/1038 takes precedence; motion detection to correct for motion artifacts in physiological signals A61B5/721
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/88 Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications

Abstract

Detecting position information related to a face, and more particularly to an eyeball in a face, using a detection and ranging system, such as a Radio Detection And Ranging (“RADAR”) system, or a Light Detection And Ranging (“LIDAR”) system. The position information may include a location of the eyeball, translational motion information related to the eyeball (e.g., displacement, velocity, acceleration, jerk, etc.), rotational motion information related to the eyeball (e.g., rotational displacement, rotational velocity, rotational acceleration, etc.) as the eyeball rotates within its socket.

Claims

1. A system for determining position and/or motion information related to an eyeball of an individual, the system comprising:

a laser radar system that unambiguously determines a range and a Doppler velocity for each of one or more points on a surface of the eyeball for substantially the same point in time; and

a monitor module that determines information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball based at least in part on the ranges and the Doppler velocities determined by the laser radar system.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more points on the surface of the eyeball comprise three or more points on the surface of the eyeball.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the three or more points on the surface of the eyeball comprise at least three points on the surface of the eyeball that are not located on the same great circle of the eyeball.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the laser radar system emits beams of radiation to a plurality of points on the eyeball simultaneously such that the ranges and the Doppler velocities of at least two of the three or more points are determined for the same point in time.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the laser radar system emits a beam radiation that is scanned successively to at least two of the three or more points on the surface of the eyeball such that the ranges and the Doppler velocities of the at least two points on the surface of the eyeball are determined for substantially the same point in time.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball comprises one or more of a position of the eyeball, a translational velocity of the eyeball, a translational acceleration of the eyeball, a translational jerk of the eyeball, a rotational velocity of the eyeball in its eye socket, or a rotational acceleration of the eyeball in its eye socket.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitor module determines information related to the position and/or the motion of an eye socket of the eyeball, and uses the information related to the position and/or the motion of the eye socket to determine information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball in the eye socket.

8. The system of claim 7, further comprising a video imaging system that captures video footage of an eye socket of the eyeball, wherein the monitor module determines the information related to the position and/or the motion of the eye socket at least in part based on processing the video footage of the eye socket captured by the video imaging system.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the laser radar system comprises:

a first coherent laser radar section including;

a laser source that generates a first laser beam,

an interferometer that splits the first laser beam into a first target beam and a first local oscillator beam, and generates a first combined target beam from a first reflected portion of the first target beam that is reflected from one of the one or more points on the eyeball and the first local oscillator beam;

a second coherent laser radar section including;

a laser source that generates a second laser beam, and

an interferometer that splits the second laser beam into a second target beam, incident on the target at the same location as the first target beam, and a second local oscillator beam, and generates a second combined target beam from a second reflected portion of the second target beam that is reflected from the one of the one or more points on the eyeball and the second local oscillator beam; and

a processor that determines a the range and the Doppler velocity for each of the one of the one or more points on the surface of eyeball from the first combined target beam and the second combined target beam.

10. A method of determining information related to a position and/or motion of an eyeball of an individual, the method comprising:

determining, unambiguously, a range and a Doppler velocity for each of one or more points on a surface of the eyeball for the same point in time or substantially the same point in time; and

determining information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball based at least in part on the determined ranges and Doppler velocities.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more points on the surface of the eyeball comprise three or more points on the surface of the eyeball.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the three or more points on the surface of the eyeball comprise at least three points on the surface of the eyeball that are not located on the same great circle of the eyeball.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising directing beams of radiation from a laser radar system to at least two of the three or more points on the surface of the eyeball simultaneously.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising directing a single beam of radiation from a laser radar system to at least two of the three or more points on the surface of the eyeball successively.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball comprises one or more of a position of the eyeball, a translational velocity of the eyeball, a translational acceleration of the eyeball, a translational jerk of the eyeball, a rotational velocity of the eyeball in its eye socket, or a rotational acceleration of the eyeball in its eye socket.

16. The method of claim 10, determining information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball comprises:

determining information related to the position and/or the motion of an eye socket of the eyeball;

using the information related to the position and/or the motion of the eye socket to determine information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball in the eye socket.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

capturing video footage of the eye socket, and wherein determining information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball based at least in part on the determined ranges and Doppler velocities comprises determining information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball based at least in part on (i) the determined ranges and Doppler velocities and (ii) the captured video footage.

18. A system for determining position and/or motion information related to an eyeball of an individual, the system comprising:

a laser radar system that determines at least a Doppler velocity of one or more points on a surface of the eyeball for substantially the same point in time;

a video imaging system that captures video footage of an eye socket of the eyeball, wherein the monitor module determines the information related to the position and/or the motion of the eye socket at least in part based on processing the video footage of the eye socket captured by the video imaging system; and

a monitor module that determines (i) information related to the motion of the eye socket at least in part based on processing the video footage of the eye socket captured by the video imaging system, and (ii) information related to the motion of the eyeball within the eye socket based at least in part on the Doppler velocities determined by the laser radar system and the information related to the motion of the eye socket.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the information related to the motion of the eyeball within the eye socket comprises a rotational velocity of the eyeball within the eye socket with respect to two rotational degrees of freedom.

20. A system for determining position and/or motion information related to an eyeball of an individual, the system comprising:

a laser radar system that unambiguously determines a range and a Doppler velocity for each of one or more points on a surface of the eyeball for substantially the same point in time, the laser radar system comprising;

a first coherent laser radar section including;

a laser source that generates a first laser beam,

an interferometer that splits the first laser beam into a first target beam and a first local oscillator beam, and generates a first combined target beam from a first reflected portion of the first target beam that is reflected from one of the one or more points on the eyeball and the first local oscillator beam;

a second coherent laser radar section including;

a laser source that generates a second laser beam, and

an interferometer that splits the second laser beam into a second target beam, incident on the target at the same location as the first target beam, and a second local oscillator beam, and generates a second combined target beam from a second reflected portion of the second target beam that is reflected from the one of the one or more points on the eyeball and the second local oscillator beam, and

a processor that unambiguously determines the range and the Doppler velocity for each of the one of the one or more points on the surface of eyeball from the first combined target beam and the second combined target beam; and

a monitor module that determines information related to the position and/or the motion of the eyeball based at least in part on the ranges and the Doppler velocities determined by the laser radar system.