Interfacing via heads-up display using eye contact

• US 9,652,035 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2015
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bedell, Jr., Stephen R., Gullo, Jr., Richard S., Myers, Andrew C., O'Meilia, Casey M.
• Primary Examiner(s): HARRIS, DOROTHY H
• Application Number:
  US14/628,693
• Publication Number:
  US 20160246365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/014 comprising information/image processing systems
• 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 27/0101 characterised by optical features G02B27/0172 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/017 Head mounted
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/193 Preprocessing; Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/022 Centralised management of display operation, e.g. in a server instead of locally
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/003 Details of a display terminal, the details relating to the control arrangement of the display terminal and to the interfaces thereto specific for a CRT G09G1/165; for a flat panel G09G3/2092
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces

Abstract

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system for device interaction via a heads-up display determines an area of sight of a first entity employing a first heads-up display, and establishes interaction between at least one first device and the first heads-up display in response to detecting at least an impact of the determined area of sight on at least one second device. Embodiments of the present invention further include a method and computer program product for interacting with a device via a heads-up display in substantially the same manners described above.

Claims

1. A system for device interaction via a heads-up display comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

exchange signals at a first heads-up display of a first entity with a second heads-up display of a second entity, wherein the first and second heads-up displays are members of a group of at least three heads-up displays, and exchanging the signals comprises;

exchanging a signal at the first heads-up display with the second heads-up display, wherein the signal for each of the first and second heads-up displays indicates a plurality of conditions including receipt of a command for an interaction between the first and second heads-up displays and detection of an area of sight of a corresponding entity provided by each of the first and second heads-up displays of the group; and

in response to receiving the signal at the first heads-up display, transmitting from the first heads up display to the second heads-up display a unique identifier for the first heads-up display and receiving at the first heads-up display from the second heads-up display a unique identifier for the second heads-up display; and

establish the interaction specified by the command between the first heads-up display and at least one first device including the second heads-up display, wherein the interaction between the first and second heads-up displays is established in response to receiving at the first head-up display from the second heads up display the unique identifier for the first heads-up display and receiving at the second heads-up display from the first heads-up display the unique identifier for the second heads-up display.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first heads-up display is coupled to at least one second device, and establishing the interaction comprises:

presenting an interface of the at least one first device on the first heads-up display;

manipulating the presented interface based on one or more from a group of the area of sight of the first entity on the at least one second device coupled to the first heads-up display and at least one voice command; and

controlling the at least one first device based on the manipulation of the presented interface.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one first device further includes a processing device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform one or more from a group of:

detecting at an electromagnetic signal detector of a corresponding one of at least one second device associated with the first heads-up display electromagnetic signals transmitted from a transmitter associated with the at least one first device; and

detecting at an electromagnetic signal detector of a corresponding one of at least one second device associated with the at least one first device electromagnetic signals transmitted from a transmitter associated with the first heads-up display.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the transmitted electromagnetic signals associated with the at least one first device and the first heads-up display each include information to establish the interaction between the at least one first device and the first heads-up display.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the first heads-up display includes an emitter to transmit signals along a direction of sight of the first entity and each of the at least one first device is associated with a corresponding second device comprising a receiver to receive the signals, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

detect at the receiver associated with the at least one first device the signals transmitted from the first heads-up display.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein a common device is impacted by areas of sight of the first entity and the second entity.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein an initial device is impacted by the area of sight of the first entity and another different device, remote from the initial device, is impacted by the area of sight of a third entity of a third heads-up display to establish interaction between the first and third heads-up displays.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the at least one first device is represented as an icon in the first heads-up display to provide information in response to establishing the interaction with that first device.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first heads-up display and the at least one first device each include a corresponding one of at least one second device comprising a transmitter and receiver to transmit and receive signals, and establishing the interaction further comprises:

performing the interaction via one or more from a group of a network connection and signals exchanged between the transmitter and receiver of the first heads-up display and the at least one first device.

11. A computer program product for device interaction via a heads-up display comprising:

a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith for execution on a processing system, the computer readable program code comprising computer readable program code configured to;

exchange signals at a first heads-up display of a first entity with a second heads-up display of a second entity, wherein the first and second heads-up displays are members of a group of at least three heads-up displays, and exchanging the signals comprises;

exchanging a signal at the first heads-up display with the second heads-up display, wherein the signal for each of the first and second heads-up displays indicates a plurality of conditions including receipt of a command for an interaction between the first and second heads-up displays and detection of an area of sight of a corresponding entity provided by each of the first and second heads-up displays of the group; and

in response to receiving the signal at the first heads-up display, transmitting from the first heads up display to the second heads-up display a unique identifier for the first heads-up display and receiving at the first heads-up display from the second heads-up display a unique identifier for the second heads-up display; and

establish the interaction specified by the command between the first heads-up display and at least one first device including the second heads-up display, wherein the interaction between the first and second heads-up displays is established in response to receiving at the first head-up display from the second heads up display the unique identifier for the first heads-up display and receiving at the second heads-up display from the first heads-up display the unique identifier for the second heads-up display.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the first heads-up display is coupled to at least one second device, and establishing the interaction comprises:

presenting an interface of the at least one first device on the first heads-up display;

manipulating the presented interface based on one or more from a group of the area of sight of the first entity on the at least one second device coupled to the first heads-up display and at least one voice command; and

controlling the at least one first device based on the manipulation of the presented interface.

13. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the at least one first device further includes a processing device.

14. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein a common device is impacted by areas of sight of the first entity and the second entity.

15. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein an initial device is impacted by the area of sight of the first entity and another different device, remote from the initial device, is impacted by the area of sight of a third entity of a third heads-up display to establish interaction between the first and third heads-up displays.

16. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein each of the at least one first device is represented as an icon in the first heads-up display to provide information in response to establishing the interaction with that first device.

17. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the first heads-up display and the at least one first device each include a corresponding one of at least one second device comprising a transmitter and receiver to transmit and receive signals, and establishing the interaction further comprises:

performing the interaction via one or more from a group of a network connection and signals exchanged between the transmitter and receiver of the first heads-up display and the at least one first device.