Patents by Inventor Christopher N. Spitler

Christopher N. Spitler has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10032074
    Abstract: A system mounted within eyewear or headwear to unobtrusively produce and track reference locations on the surface of one or both eyes of an observer is provided to improve the accuracy of gaze tracking. The system utilizes multiple illumination sources and/or multiple cameras to generate and observe glints from multiple directions. The use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can compensate for the complex, three-dimensional geometry of the head and the significant anatomical variations of the head and eye region that occurs among individuals. The system continuously tracks the initial placement and any slippage of eyewear or headwear. In addition, the use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can maintain high-precision, dynamic eye tracking as an eye moves through its full physiological range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
  • Patent number: 10025379
    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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: Google LLC
    Inventors: Eliot Francis Drake, Gholamreza Amayeh, Angelique Kano, Dave Le Blanc, Zhiming Liu, Lewis James Marggraff, Rory Pierce, Nelson G. Publicover, Christopher N. Spitler, Michael Vacchina
  • Publication number: 20170116476
    Abstract: A system mounted within eyewear or headwear to unobtrusively produce and track reference locations on the surface of one or both eyes of an observer is provided to improve the accuracy of gaze tracking. The system utilizes multiple illumination sources and/or multiple cameras to generate and observe glints from multiple directions. The use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can compensate for the complex, three-dimensional geometry of the head and the significant anatomical variations of the head and eye region that occurs among individuals. The system continuously tracks the initial placement and any slippage of eyewear or headwear. In addition, the use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can maintain high-precision, dynamic eye tracking as an eye moves through its full physiological range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2016
    Publication date: April 27, 2017
    Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
  • Patent number: 9390326
    Abstract: A system mounted within eyewear or headwear to unobtrusively produce and track reference locations on the surface of one or both eyes of an observer is provided to improve the accuracy of gaze tracking. The system utilizes multiple illumination sources and/or multiple cameras to generate and observe glints from multiple directions. The use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can compensate for the complex, three-dimensional geometry of the head and the significant anatomical variations of the head and eye region that occurs among individuals. The system continuously tracks the initial placement and any slippage of eyewear or headwear. In addition, the use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can maintain high-precision, dynamic eye tracking as an eye moves through its full physiological range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2016
    Assignee: EYEFLUENCE, INC.
    Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
  • Publication number: 20150220779
    Abstract: A system mounted within eyewear or headwear to unobtrusively produce and track reference locations on the surface of one or both eyes of an observer is provided to improve the accuracy of gaze tracking. The system utilizes multiple illumination sources and/or multiple cameras to generate and observe glints from multiple directions. The use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can compensate for the complex, three-dimensional geometry of the head and the significant anatomical variations of the head and eye region that occurs among individuals. The system continuously tracks the initial placement and any slippage of eyewear or headwear. In addition, the use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can maintain high-precision, dynamic eye tracking as an eye moves through its full physiological range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 31, 2014
    Publication date: August 6, 2015
    Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
  • Patent number: 8929589
    Abstract: A system is mounted within eyewear or headwear to unobtrusively produce and track reference locations on the surface of one or both eyes of an observer. The system utilizes multiple illumination sources and/or multiple cameras to generate and observe glints from multiple directions. The use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can compensate for the complex, three-dimensional geometry of the head and anatomical variations of the head and eye region that occurs among individuals. The system continuously tracks the initial placement and any slippage of eyewear or headwear. In addition, the use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can maintain high-precision, dynamic eye tracking as an eye moves through its full physiological range. Furthermore, illumination sources placed in the normal line-of-sight of the device wearer increase the accuracy of gaze tracking by producing reference vectors that are close to the visual axis of the device wearer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Eyefluence, Inc.
    Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
  • Publication number: 20140184775
    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.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2013
    Publication date: July 3, 2014
    Applicant: Eyefluence, Inc.
    Inventors: Eliot Francis Drake, Gholamreza Amayeh, Angelique Kano, Dave Le Blanc, Zhiming Liu, Lewis James Marggraff, Rory Pierce, Nelson G. Publicover, Christopher N. Spitler, Michael Vacchina
  • Publication number: 20130114850
    Abstract: A system is mounted within eyewear or headwear to unobtrusively produce and track reference locations on the surface of one or both eyes of an observer. The system utilizes multiple illumination sources and/or multiple cameras to generate and observe glints from multiple directions. The use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can compensate for the complex, three-dimensional geometry of the head and anatomical variations of the head and eye region that occurs among individuals. The system continuously tracks the initial placement and any slippage of eyewear or headwear. In addition, the use of multiple illumination sources and cameras can maintain high-precision, dynamic eye tracking as an eye moves through its full physiological range. Furthermore, illumination sources placed in the normal line-of-sight of the device wearer increase the accuracy of gaze tracking by producing reference vectors that are close to the visual axis of the device wearer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 7, 2011
    Publication date: May 9, 2013
    Applicant: EYE-COM CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler