Eye controlled user-machine communication

Claim 2

A user-machine communicating device comprising in combination: means for partitioning a field of view into a plurality of segments containing information display content and at least one discrete location having information receipt'capability; means establishing the point in said field of vision wherein the gaze of the user strikes; means associating the aiming point of the direction of gaze of the user with a specific location in said field of vision; and information transfer means comprising information display, information selection and information verification.

Claim 3

The device of Claim 1 wherein said means for identifying the direction of gaze of the user involves reflected light.

Claim 4

The device of Claim 2 wherein said field of vision is a display.

Claim 5

The device of Claim 3 wherein said display is electrically alterable.

Claim 6

The device of Claim 4 wherein said electrically alterable display is a cathode ray tube.

Claim 7

The device of Claim 1 wherein said information transfer means includes means providing feedback to the user that a preset value has been exceeded and means monitoring a verification location.

Claim 8

The device of Claim 6 wherein said information transfer means involves comparing the duration that gaze is focused on a specific location with a preset value, changing the light intensity of said specific location and thereafter monitoring the aiming point of the direction of gaze on a specific location associated with at least one of CANCEL and VERIFY.

Claim 9

In a display terminal of the type having a screen for visual presentation to a viewer and information entry means for interactive information input in response to data displayed on said screen the improvement comprising: interactive information transfer means including duration of aiming point of the direction of gaze of the user based feedback to the user and duration of aiming point of the direction of gaze of the user based verification of said feedback.

Claim 10

In a display terminal of the type having a screen for visual presentation to a viewer and information entry means for interactive information input in response to data displayed on said screen the improvement comprising: interactive information transfer means including duration of aiming point of the direction of gaze of the user based feedback to the user and duration of aiming point of the direction of gaze of the user based verification of said feedback.

Claim 11

In a user-machine communication device of the type wherein direction of gaze is employed to f convey information the improvement comprising: monitoring in comparison with a preset value the duration of the gaze on a particular location and advancing to the user for verification an assumption of a selection from a quantity of information.

Claim 12

In a user-machine communication device of the type wherein direction of gaze is employed to f convey information the improvement comprising: monitoring in comparison with a preset value the duration of the gaze on a particular location and advancing to the user for verification an assumption of a selection from a quantity of information.

Claim 13

The device of Claim 9 wherein said communication takes place by directing the gaze to individual locations of a partitioned viewing area.

Claim 14

ll. The communication device of Claim 10 wherein the viewing area is a display screen.

Claim 15

The process of communicating between a user and a machine comprising in combination the steps of: partitioning a viewing area into a plurality of discrete locations; assigning specific informational transmission functions to certain of said locations and information receipt functions to certain other of said locations; providing means to associate the aiming point of the direction of gaze on an identifiable said discrete location; and communicating by a sequence of first displaying information in a first specific location, second measurement of duration of gaze of user at said first specific location by measurement of the duration of the gaze of the user at said first specific location and third verifying an assumption of a selection of information at said first location by measurement of the duration of the gaze of the user at a second specific location.

Claim 16

The process of communicating between a user and a machine comprising in combination the steps of: partitioning a viewing area into a plurality of discrete locations; assigning specific informational transmission functions to certain of said locations and information receipt functions to certain other of said locations; providing means to associate the aiming point of the direction of gaze on an identifiable said discrete location; and communicating by a sequence of first displaying information in a first specific location, second measurement of duration of gaze of user at said first specific location by measurement of the duration of the gaze of the user at said first specific location and third verifying an assumption of a selection of information at said first location by measurement of the duration of the gaze of the user at a second specific location.

Claim 17

The process of Claim 12 wherein said means for establishing the aiming point of the direction of gaze involves light reflected from the eyeball of the user.

Claim 18

The process of Claim 13 wherein the information in the reflected light is a comparison of the location of the glint with the location of the pupil of the eyeball.

Claim 19

The process of Claim 14 wherein said reflected light information is processed in a digital computer using the least squares mathematical process in reduction of the data points.

Claim 20

The process of Claim 15 wherein said mathematical reduction involves an ellipse.

Claim 21

The technique of acquiring optical data for use in establishing the direction of gaze comprising: providing a single light path that passes through a beam splitter between an eyeball and a video camera; providing a source of infrared light in a path such that the light from said infrared source strikes said beam splitter, goes to the eyeball and is reflected back through the beam splitter to the video camera whereby said video camera sees glint in relation to elliptical pupil and information by means of processing best ellipse; whereby the light image reflected from said eyeball that strikes said video camera is a glint region in relation to an elliptical pupil region; and processing said light image outline by means of a mathematical process that fits an ellipse to said outline.

Claim 22

The technique of acquiring optical data for use in establishing the direction of gaze comprising: providing a single light path that passes through a beam splitter between an eyeball and a video camera; providing a source of infrared light in a path such that the light from said infrared source strikes said beam splitter, goes to the eyeball and is reflected back through the beam splitter to the video camera whereby said video camera sees glint in relation to elliptical pupil and information by means of processing best ellipse; whereby the light image reflected from said eyeball that strikes said video camera is a glint region in relation to an elliptical pupil region; and processing said light image outline by means of a mathematical process that fits an ellipse to said outline.