Systems, methods, and techniques for safely controlling devices using eye gaze control

A control system for an electrically powered device having one or more actuators configured to adjust a seat or a frame according to a plurality of axes or to cause movement of the powered device, and having an eye gaze sensor associated with microcontroller implemented logic to capture eye position of an occupant in order to determine occupant intent to select one or more selectable virtual user interface controls presented on the display or projection, comprising:

• first code logic configured when executed by a microcontroller to perform a separate actuation safety check to determine whether to perform a safety intervention to prevent unsafe motion that may result in tipping, falling, collision or movement of position outside of safe limits relative to other life sustaining devices, and/or to prevent a navigation or movement hazard;
• and
• second code logic distinct and separate from the first code logic, configured when executed by a microcontroller to:
• present a plurality of visual targets positioned in a designated attention area of a display or a projection, the attention area comprising a subset of the field of view of the user;
• receive a stream of data points from the eye gaze sensor, the data points including detection of the presence of eyes and coordinate information regarding a visual focus of the eyes within the field of view of the user;
• determine from the stream of data points an indication of the presence of eyes, and when the presence of eyes are indicated, a current eye gaze vector and an indication of whether the current eye gaze vector intersects the attention area;
• when it is determined that the current eye gaze vector intersects the attention area,
• determine whether the eye gaze vector intersects one of the plurality of visual targets presented within the attention area;
• when it is determined that the eye gaze vector intersects one of the plurality of visual targets, determine that the user intends to activate the intersected visual target or maintain activation of the intersected visual target;
• cause execution of the first code logic to perform the separate actuation safety check;
• and
• when it is determined to be safe to actuate based upon the actuation safety check, cause movement of an actuator device associated with the intersected visual target, thereby causing positional or movement changes to the powered device.

A computer-readable memory medium containing instructions, when executed on a microcontroller associated with a powered device, for enabling a user to control, using eye gaze interaction, one or more actuators configured to modify a position or movement of one or more components of a powered device, the powered device having an associated eye gaze sensor, by performing a method comprising:

• presenting a plurality of visual targets positioned in a designated attention area of a display or projection, the attention area comprising a subset of the field of view of the user;
• receiving a stream of data points from the eye gaze sensor, the data points including detection of the presence of eyes and coordinate information regarding a visual focus of the eyes within the field of view of the user;
• determining from the stream of data points an indication of the presence of eyes, and when the presence of eyes are indicated, a current eye gaze vector and an indication of whether the current eye gaze vector intersects the attention area;
• when it is determined that the current eye gaze vector intersects the attention area,
• determining whether the eye gaze vector intersects one of the plurality of visual targets presented within the attention area;
• when it is determined that the eye gaze vector intersects one of the plurality of visual targets, determining that the user intends to activate the intersected visual target or maintain activation of the intersected visual target;
• performing a separate actuation safety check to determine whether to perform a safety intervention to prevent unsafe motion that could result in tipping, falling, collision, and/or movement of position outside of safe limits relative to other life sustaining devices, and/or to prevent a navigation or movement hazard;
• and
• when it is determined to be safe to actuate based upon the actuation safety check, causing translational or rotational movement of an actuator device associated with the intersected visual target, thereby causing positional changes or movement to the powered device.