Image capture technique

• US 9,171,198 B1
• Filed: 07/31/2012
• Issued: 10/27/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Raffle, Hayes Solos, Brin, Sergey, Wu, Bo, Johnson, Michael Patrick, Sparks, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Haskins, Twyler
• Assistant Examiner(s): Garces-Rivera, Angel L
• Application Number:
  US13/563,238
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 27/01 Head-up displays
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/012 Head tracking input arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/171 Local features and components; Facial parts eye characteristics G06V40/18; Occluding parts, e.g. glasses; Geometrical relationships
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/61 based on recognised objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders

Abstract

This disclosure relates to winking to capture image data using an image capture device that is associated with a head-mountable device (HMD). An illustrative method includes detecting a wink gesture at an HMD. The method also includes causing an image capture device to capture image data, in response to detecting the wink gesture at the HMD.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting a wink gesture at a head-mountable device (HMD), wherein detecting a wink gesture comprises;

determining a light intensity level at the HMD based on light reflected from an eye area, wherein the eye area includes skin to a side of an eye; and

determining that the light intensity level corresponds, at least in part, to light reflected from wrinkles in the skin to the side of the eye that are characteristic of a wink; and

causing an image capture device to capture image data, in response to detecting the wink gesture at the HMD.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

causing a display device to display an image that corresponds to the image data; and

enabling a secondary gesture to interact with the image.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the secondary gesture comprises a head nod.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the enabling the secondary gesture to interact with the image comprises causing the display device to remove the image from display.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the causing the display device to display the image is performed without a need for user intervention.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a secondary gesture at the HMD, wherein the causing the image capture device to capture the image data is performed further in response to the detecting the secondary gesture at the HMD.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the detecting the secondary gesture at the HMD is performed after the detecting the wink gesture at the HMD.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the detecting the secondary gesture at the HMD is performed before the detecting the wink gesture at the HMD.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the detecting the secondary gesture at the HMD is performed while the wink gesture is occurring; and

the causing the image capture device to capture the image data is performed after the wink gesture ends.

10. The method of claim 6, further comprising activating a photographic function at the HMD, in response to the detecting the secondary gesture at the HMD.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the photographic function at the HMD is selected from the group consisting of:

a zoom function, a flash function, a focus function, and any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein:

the wink gesture comprises a wink of an eye of a wearer of the HMD when the HMD is worn; and

the secondary gesture comprises a wink of the other eye of the wearer when the HMD is worn.

13. The method of claim 6, wherein the secondary gesture and the wink gesture occur simultaneously.

14. The method of claim 6, wherein the secondary gesture is selected from the group consisting of:

a squint gesture, a blink gesture, a movement of the HMD, an eye movement, a voice command, a head nod, a gesture at a finger-operable device disposed at the HMD, an inaction during a threshold period, and any combination thereof.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing a display device to display a video, wherein the causing the image capture device to capture the image data comprises capturing at least a part of the video.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising commencing a photographic process, in response to the detecting the wink gesture at the HMD.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the photographic process is selected from the group consisting of:

a time-lapse photographic process, a process of recording a video, a process of displaying a video, and any combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the image data is captured based on data that results from the photographic process.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

detecting a second wink gesture at the HMD, after the commencing the photographic process; and

ending the photographic process, in response to the detecting the second wink gesture at the HMD.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising activating a photographic function at the HMD, in response to the detecting the wink gesture at the HMD, wherein the causing the image capture device to capture the image data is performed after the activating the photographic function at the HMD.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the photographic function at the HMD is selected from the group consisting of:

a zoom function, a flash function, an auto-focus function, a burst photography function, a high dynamic range function, and any combination thereof.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a second wink gesture at the HMD, before the detecting the wink gesture at the HMD; and

activating a photographic function at the HMD, in response to the detecting the second wink gesture at the HMD.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the image data as an input to a function of the HMD.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the function of the HMD is selected from the group consisting of:

performing an analysis of the image data, sending the image data to a social network, sending the image data in a message, and any combination thereof.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the using the image data as the input to the function of the HMD is performed without displaying an image corresponding to the image data.

26. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a face of a person, based on an analysis of the image data;

identifying the face; and

sending the image data to an account that is associated with the person.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored therein instructions that, upon execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:

detecting a wink gesture at a head-mountable device (HMD), wherein detecting a wink gesture comprises;

determining a light intensity level at the HMD based on light reflected from an eye area, wherein the eye area includes skin to a side of an eye; and

determining that the light intensity level corresponds, at least in part, to light reflected from wrinkles in the skin to the side of the eye that are characteristic of a wink; and

causing an image capture device to capture image data, in response to detecting the wink gesture at the HMD.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the functions further comprise detecting a secondary gesture at the HMD, wherein the causing the image capture device to capture the image data is performed further in response to detecting the secondary gesture at the HMD.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the functions further comprise commencing a photographic process, in response to the detecting the wink gesture at the HMD.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the functions further comprise using the image data as an input to a function of the HMD without displaying an image corresponding to the image data.

31. A system of a head-mountable device (HMD), the system comprising:

an image capture device that is connected to the HMD, wherein when the HMD is worn, the image capture device is configured to capture image data;

a wink-detection system that is connected to the HMD, wherein when the HMD is worn, the wink-detection system is configured to detect a wink gesture at the HMD, wherein the wink-detection system comprises;

a proximity sensor that detects a movement of the eye area, wherein the proximity sensor comprises;

a receiver portion disposed at a side section of the HMD, wherein the receiver portion receives light reflected from an eye area, wherein the eye area includes a skin to a side of an eye, wherein the proximity sensor detects the movement of the eye area based at least in part on the light received by the receiver portion; and

a computer-readable medium having stored therein program instructions that, upon execution by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform functions comprising;

causing the image capture device to capture the image data, in response to the wink-detection system detecting the wink gesture at the HMD, wherein detecting the wink gesture at the HMD comprises;

determining a light intensity level at the receiver portion;

determining that the light intensity level corresponds, at least in part, to light reflected from wrinkles in the skin to the side of the eye that are characteristic of a wink.

32. The system of claim 31, further comprising a secondary gesture detection system that is connected to the HMD, wherein when the HMD is worn, the secondary gesture detection system is configured to detect a secondary gesture at the HMD, wherein causing the image capture device to capture the image data is performed further in response to the secondary gesture detection system detecting the secondary gesture at the HMD.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the secondary gesture at the HMD is selected from the group consisting of:

a squint gesture, a blink gesture, a movement of the HMD, a head nod, an eye movement, a voice command, a gesture at a finger-operable device disposed at the HMD, an inaction during a threshold period, and any combination thereof.