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US 7,682,026 B2Granted
Eye location and gaze detection system and method
AssigneeSouthwest Research Institute
InventorsStephen Douglas Huffman, Michael Patrick Rigney
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for gaze detection of an animate subject, typically a human. The subject's pupils are located in three dimensional space, using red-eye detection techniques and triangulation. Then, the gaze direction is determined based on the shape of the subject's irises.
Claims9
A system for detecting eye location and gaze location of an animate subject, comprising:
- a pair of cameras, one each for capturing images of one of the subject's eyes;
- a pair of infrared illuminators, one each associated with a camera, operable to illuminate the subject's pupils;
- an eye location image processing system operable to use the images from the cameras to locate the subject's pupils in two dimensional space, using a red-eye detection process, and to locate the subject's pupils in three dimensional space using a triangulation process based on the direction from the cameras to each pupil;
- and
- a gaze direction processing system operable to use the same images to detect the gaze direction of the subject's eyes based on the shape of the subject's irises when projected onto the image plane.
2 more elements
A method for detecting eye location and gaze direction of an animate subject, comprising:
- using a pair of cameras, one each for capturing images of one of the subject's eyes;
- using a pair of infrared illuminators, one each associated with a camera, to illuminate the subject's pupils;
- alternately illuminating the subject's eyes and synchronizing the cameras' image acquisition, such that a first camera acquires a bright image from its associated eye while a second camera acquires a dark image from its associated eye, then the first camera acquires a dark images of its associated eye while the second camera acquires a bright image of its associated eye;
- using an eye location image processing system to locate the subject's pupils in two dimensional space by using a red-eye detection process, and to locate the subject's pupils in three dimensional space by using a triangulation process based on the direction from the cameras to each pupil;
- and
- using a gaze direction processing system to use the same images to detect the gaze direction of the subject's eyes based on the shape of the subject's irises when projected onto the image plane.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.