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).
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Patent number: 10032074Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: July 11, 2016Date of Patent: July 24, 2018Assignee: Google LLCInventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
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Patent number: 10025379Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 6, 2013Date of Patent: July 17, 2018Assignee: Google LLCInventors: 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
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Publication number: 20170116476Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: July 11, 2016Publication date: April 27, 2017Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
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Patent number: 9390326Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: December 31, 2014Date of Patent: July 12, 2016Assignee: EYEFLUENCE, INC.Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
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Publication number: 20150220779Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: December 31, 2014Publication date: August 6, 2015Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
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Patent number: 8929589Abstract: 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: GrantFiled: November 7, 2011Date of Patent: January 6, 2015Assignee: Eyefluence, Inc.Inventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler
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Publication number: 20140184775Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: December 6, 2013Publication date: July 3, 2014Applicant: 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
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Publication number: 20130114850Abstract: 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: ApplicationFiled: November 7, 2011Publication date: May 9, 2013Applicant: EYE-COM CORPORATIONInventors: Nelson G. Publicover, William C. Torch, Christopher N. Spitler