Eye tracking wearable devices and methods for use

• US 10,025,379 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2013
• Issued: 07/17/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Drake, Eliot Francis, Amayeh, Gholamreza, Kano, Angelique, Le Blanc, Dave, Liu, Zhiming, Marggraff, Lewis James, Pierce, Rory, Publicover, Nelson G., Spitler, Christopher N., Vacchina, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Dang, Hung
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wendmagegn, Girumsew
• Application Number:
  US14/099,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20140184775A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: 348 78
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/14 Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography apparatus or arrangements for taking photographs per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/38 Releasing-devices separate from shutter integral with shutter G03B9/08
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 2213/025 Sightline detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/163 Wearable computers, e.g. on a belt
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence

Abstract

Devices and methods are provided for eye-tracking, e.g., including a freeform optical assembly and/or a modular design. In an exemplary embodiment, a device and method are provided that includes a wearable device on a user'"'"'s head, the wearable device including a scene camera oriented to capture images of the user'"'"'s surroundings. The user may perform a predetermined action with the user'"'"'s eye to activate a photo feature of the wearable device, gaze at a region within the user'"'"'s surroundings, the wearable device determining a focal point and limited field-of-view for the camera imaging field based on the center point, and activate the camera to capture an image of the limited field-of-view centered around the focal point.

Claims

1. A method for taking a digital photo, comprising:

activating, at a wearable device comprising a scene camera oriented to capture images of a user'"'"'s surroundings, a photo feature of the wearable device in response to a predetermined action by the user'"'"'s eye, wherein the predetermined action comprises the user gazing at a Take Photo LED on the wearable device to activate a photo feature;

determining, by the wearable device, a focal point and limited field-of-view for an imaging field of the camera based on a center point of a region within the user'"'"'s surroundings in response to the user gazing at the center point; and

capturing an image of the limited field-of-view centered around the focal point.

2. A method for taking a digital photo, comprising:

activating, at a wearable device comprising a scene camera oriented to capture images of a user'"'"'s surroundings, a photo feature of the wearable device in response to the user gazing at a predetermined location of the wearable device;

determining, by the wearable device, in response to the user gazing at opposite corners of a virtual frame of a region within the user'"'"'s surroundings, a focal point and limited field-of-view for an imaging field of the camera based on a center point and based upon the opposite corners; and

capturing an image of the limited field-of-view centered around the focal point.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein activating a photo feature is in response to a user gazing at a Take Photo LED on the wearable device until the wearable device changes the LED to indicate the photo feature is active.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the LED changes color to indicate that the photo feature is active.

5. A device for taking a digital photo, comprising:

a wearable device configured to be worn on a user'"'"'s head;

an endo-camera on the wearable device configured to obtain eye tracking images of the eye when the wearable device is worn by the user;

an exo-camera on the wearable device configured to obtain images of the user'"'"'s surroundings when the wearable device is worn by the user; and

one or more processors coupled to the endo-camera configured to determine when the user performs a predetermined action with the user'"'"'s eye to activate a photo feature of the wearable device, wherein the predetermined action comprises the user gazing at a Take Photo LED on the wearable device, the one or more processors coupled to the exo-camera configured to determine when the user gazes at a region within the user'"'"'s surroundings in a predetermined manner, the one or more processors configured to determine a focal point and limited field-of-view for an imaging field of the exo-camera based on the predetermined manner, and to activate the exo-camera to capture an image of the limited field-of-view centered around the focal point.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the one or more processors are coupled to the Take Photo LED such that the one or more processors change a color of the LED to indicate the photo feature is active in response to the user gazing at the Take Photo LED.

7. A method for taking a digital photo, comprising:

activating, at a wearable device comprising a scene camera oriented to capture images of a user'"'"'s surroundings, a photo feature in response to the user gazing at a predetermined location of the wearable device;

determining, by the wearable device, a focal point and limited field-of-view for an imaging field of the camera based on a center point of a region within the user'"'"'s surroundings in response to the user gazing at the center point, wherein determining the limited field-of-view is further in response to the user gazing at opposite corners of a virtual frame; and

capturing an image of the limited field-of-view centered around the focal point.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein activating the photo feature is in response to the user gazing at a Take Photo LED on the wearable device until the wearable device changes the LED to indicate the photo feature is active.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the LED changes color to indicate that the photo feature is active.

10. A device for taking a digital photo, comprising:

a wearable device configured to be worn on a user'"'"'s head;

an eye tracking camera on the wearable device configured to obtain eye tracking images of the eye when the wearable device is worn by the user;

a scene camera on the wearable device configured to obtain images of the user'"'"'s surroundings; and

one or more processors coupled to the eye tracking camera and the scene camera to determine when the user gazes at a predetermined location of the wearable device to activate a photo feature of the wearable device and when the user gazes at opposite corners of a virtual frame of a region within the user'"'"'s surroundings, the one or more processors configured to determine a focal point and a limited field-of-view for an imaging field of the camera based on the gazed-upon opposite corners and to activate the scene camera to capture an image of the limited field-of-view centered around the focal point.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the predetermined location comprises a Take Photo LED.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the one or more processors are coupled to the Take Photo LED such that, when user gazes at the Take Photo LED, the one or more processors change a color of the LED to indicate the photo feature is active.