Reducing power consumption of a wearable device utilizing eye tracking

• US 9,239,615 B2
• Filed: 07/03/2015
• Issued: 01/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Affectomatics ltd.
• Original Assignee: Ari M. Frank, Gil Thieberger
• Inventors: Frank, Ari M, Thieberger, Gil
• Primary Examiner(s): BUTLER, DENNIS
• Application Number:
  US14/791,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20150323986A1
• Time in Patent Office: 200 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/28 Supervision thereof, e.g. detecting power-supply failure by out of limits supervision
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3206 Monitoring of events, devices or parameters that trigger a change in power modality
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3212 Monitoring battery levels, e.g. power saving mode being initiated when battery voltage goes below a certain level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3234 Power saving characterised by the action undertaken
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/011 Emotion or mood input determined on the basis of sensed human body parameters such as pulse, heart rate or beat, temperature of skin, facial expressions, iris, voice pitch, brain activity patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/015 Input arrangements based on nervous system activity detection, e.g. brain waves [EEG] detection, electromyograms [EMG] detection, electrodermal response detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/46 Multiprogramming arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 7/01 Probabilistic graphical models, e.g. probabilistic networks

Abstract

Systems and methods that enable a reduction of the power consumption involved in measuring a user'"'"'s affective response to content with a sensor belonging to a wearable device. The reduction in power consumption is achieved by utilizing eye tracking to determine when a user is paying attention to the content, and accordingly setting a mode of operation of the wearable device to measure the user. Thus, by using different modes of operation, which are characterized by different energy consumption rates, the total power consumption of the wearable device may be reduced, essentially without loss of relevant measurements.

Claims

1. A system configured to reduce power consumption of a wearable device comprising a sensor, by utilizing eye tracking, comprising:

a gaze analyzer configured to receive first and second eye tracking data of a user acquired essentially during exposure of the user to respective first and second segments of content presented on a display that is not part of the wearable device;

the gaze analyzer is further configured to determine from the first eye tracking data that a gaze-based attention level to the first segment reaches a first predetermined threshold;

the gaze analyzer is further configured to determine from the second eye tracking data that a gaze-based attention level to the second segment does not reach a second predetermined threshold, and to indicate an indication thereof to a mode-selector; and

the mode-selector is configured to operate the wearable device in a first mode of operation to measure, utilizing the sensor, affective response of the user to the first segment, and responsive to the indication, to operate the wearable device in a second mode of operation to measure, utilizing the sensor, affective response of the user to the second segment;

wherein, when operating in the second mode of operation, power consumed by the wearable device for measuring affective response is significantly lower than the power consumed by the wearable device for measuring affective response when operating in the first mode of operation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first predetermined threshold has the same value as the second predetermined threshold.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the gaze analyzer is further configured to indicate to the mode-selector that the gaze-based attention level to the first segment reaches the first predetermined threshold.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is worn on the wrist of the user.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is a head-mounted device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the wearable device comprises an EEG sensor.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is a battery powered device comprising a sensor that is coupled to the user and measures a physiological signal of the user.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising an interactive computer game configured to generate the first and second segments;

wherein the interactive computer game comprises an element whose actions in the game are at least partially controlled by the user.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the power consumption of the wearable device related to measuring affective response when operating in the second mode of operation is at least 50% lower than the power consumption of the wearable device when operating in the first mode of operation.

10. A method for reducing power consumption of a wearable device comprising a sensor, by utilizing eye tracking, comprising:

receiving first eye tracking data of a user acquired essentially during exposure of the user to a first segment of content;

determining, based on the first eye tracking data, that a gaze-based attention level to the first segment reaches a first predetermined threshold, and operating the wearable device in a first mode of operation to measure affective response of the user to the first segment;

receiving second eye tracking data of the user acquired essentially during exposure of the user to a second segment of content; and

determining, based on the second eye tracking data, that a gaze-based attention level to the second segment does not reach a second predetermined threshold, and operating the wearable device in a second mode of operation to measure affective response of the user to the second segment;

wherein, when operating in the second mode of operation, power consumed by the wearable device for measuring affective response is significantly lower than the power consumed by the wearable device for measuring affective response when operating in the first mode of operation.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first predetermined threshold has the same value as the second predetermined threshold.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising generating the first and second segments by an interactive computer game comprising an element whose actions in the game is at least partially controlled by the user.

13. A system configured to reduce power consumption of a wearable device comprising a sensor, by utilizing eye tracking, comprising:

a gaze analyzer configured to receive first and second eye tracking data of a user acquired essentially during exposure of the user to respective first and second segments of content presented on a display that is not part of the wearable device;

the gaze analyzer is further configured to determine from the first eye tracking data that a gaze-based attention level to the first segment reaches a first predetermined threshold, and to indicate an indication thereof to a mode-selector;

the gaze analyzer is further configured to determine from the second eye tracking data that a gaze-based attention level to the second segment does not reach a second predetermined threshold; and

the mode-selector is configured to operate the wearable device in a first mode of operation to measure, utilizing the sensor, affective response of the user to the second segment, and responsive to the indication, to operate the wearable device in a second mode of operation to measure, utilizing the sensor, affective response of the user to the first segment;

wherein, when operating in the second mode of operation, power consumed by the wearable device for measuring affective response is significantly lower than the power consumed by the wearable device for measuring affective response when operating in the first mode of operation.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the gaze analyzer is further configured to indicate to the mode-selector that the gaze-based attention level to the second segment does not reach the second predetermined threshold.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the first predetermined threshold has the same value as the second predetermined threshold.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the wearable device is worn on the wrist of the user.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the wearable device is a head-mounted device.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the wearable device is a battery powered device comprising a sensor that is coupled to the user and measures a physiological signal of the user.

19. The system of claim 13, further comprising an interactive computer game configured to generate the first and second segments;

wherein the interactive computer game has an element whose actions in the game are at least partially controlled by the user.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the power consumption of the wearable device related to measuring affective response when operating in the second mode of operation is at least 50% lower than the power consumption of the wearable device when it operates in the first mode of operation.