Patents by Inventor Robert Dale Cavin

Robert Dale Cavin 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: 11042034
    Abstract: A system is describes that includes a head mounted display (HMD) and a portable docking station configured to receive the HMD for calibration of one or more components of the HMD. The portable docking station includes at least one calibration target, e.g., a checkerboard pattern and/or a convex reflector. Techniques of this disclosure include calibrating an image capture device of the HMD based on one or more images of the calibration target captured by the image capture device when the HMD is placed in the portable docking station. The disclosed techniques may be applied to calibrate multiple different components of the HMD, including image capture devices such as eye-tracking cameras and inside-out cameras, displays, illuminators, sensors, and the like. In some examples, a rechargeable battery of the HMD may be charged when the HMD is placed in the portable docking station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Sebastian Sztuk, Javier San Agustin Lopez, Sapna Shroff, Robert Dale Cavin, Alexander Jobe Fix
  • Patent number: 10983591
    Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include identifying a region within a user's eye gaze and calculating a ranking for the identified region within the user's eye gaze. The ranking may indicate the user's level of interest in the identified region. The method may then determine how the identified region is to be presented according to the calculated ranking and present the identified region in the determined manner according to the calculated ranking. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 20, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew John Ouderkirk, Neeraj Choubey, Andre Golard, Bo Asp Andersen, Immo Andreas Schuetz, Karol Constantine Hatzilias, Kelly Ingham, Martin Henrik Tall, Sharvil Shailesh Talati, Robert Dale Cavin, Thomas Scott Murdison
  • Patent number: 10963046
    Abstract: A system tracks eye position using a first Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) eye tracking unit to determine a first position of an eye of a user. The OCT eye tracking unit projects low coherence interference light onto a portion of the user's eye, and uses captured light reflected from the illuminated portion of the user's eye to generate a dataset describing the portion of the user's eye. The first position of the user's eye is determined based upon the generated dataset and a previously generated dataset. In order to minimize error and reduce the effects of draft, a reference tracking system is configured to determine a second position of the user's eye, which is used to update the determined first position of the user's eye.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Dale Cavin, Alexander Jobe Fix, Andrew John Ouderkirk
  • Patent number: 10948873
    Abstract: A system for making a holographic medium includes a light source configured to provide light and a beam splitter configured to separate the light into a first portion of the light and a second portion of the light that is spatially separated from the first portion of the light. The system also includes a first set of optical elements configured to transmit the first portion of the light for providing a first wide-field beam onto an optically recordable medium, a second set of optical elements configured to transmit the second portion of the light through for providing a second wide-field beam, and a plurality of lenses optically coupled with the second set of optical elements configured to receive the second wide-field beam and project a plurality of separate light patterns onto the optically recordable medium for forming the holographic medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ganghun Kim, Andrew Maimone, Alexander Jobe Fix, Robert Dale Cavin, Hee Yoon Lee, Matthieu Charles Raoul Leibovici, Brian Wheelwright, Douglas Robert Lanman
  • Patent number: 10942489
    Abstract: A method includes providing light from a light source and separating the light into a first portion of the light and a second portion of the light that is spatially separated from the first portion of the light. The method also includes transmitting the first portion of the light through a first set of optical elements to provide a first wide-field beam, transmitting the second portion of the light through a second set of optical elements to provide a second wide-field beam that is spatially separated from the first wide-field beam, and transmitting the second wide-field beam through a third set of optical elements to provide a plurality of separate light patterns. The method further includes concurrently projecting the first wide-field beam and the plurality of separate light patterns onto an optically recordable medium to form a holographic medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ganghun Kim, Andrew Maimone, Alexander Jobe Fix, Robert Dale Cavin, Hee Yoon Lee, Matthieu Charles Raoul Leibovici, Brian Wheelwright, Douglas Robert Lanman
  • Patent number: 10909405
    Abstract: Systems and methods for virtual interest segmentation may include (1) performing a semantic segmentation of an image of a user's environment, captured by an artificial reality (AR) device being worn by the user, to identify objects within the user's environment, (2) in addition to performing the semantic segmentation, performing an interest segmentation of the image to determine a personal interest that the user may have in a particular object identified via the semantic segmentation, (3) creating virtual content relating to the particular object based on the user's personal interest in the particular object, and (4) displaying the virtual content within a display element of the AR device. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Andre Golard, Bo Asp Andersen, Immo Andreas Schuetz, Karol Constantine Hatzilias, Kelly Ingham, Martin Henrik Tall, Neeraj Choubey, Sharvil Shailesh Talati, Robert Dale Cavin, Thomas Scott Murdison
  • Publication number: 20210017150
    Abstract: A system for making a holographic medium for use in generating light patterns for eye tracking includes a light source configured to provide light and a beam splitter configured to separate the light into a first portion of the light and a second portion of the light that is spatially separated from the first portion of the light. The system also includes a first set of optical elements configured to transmit the first portion of the light for providing a first wide-field beam onto an optically recordable medium and one or more diffractive optical elements configured to receive the second portion of the light and project a plurality of separate light patterns onto the optically recordable medium for forming the holographic medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 6, 2020
    Publication date: January 21, 2021
    Inventors: Ganghun KIM, Andrew MAIMONE, Alexander Jobe FIX, Robert Dale CAVIN, Hee Yoon LEE, Matthieu Charles Raoul LEIBOVICI, Brian WHEELWRIGHT, Douglas Robert LANMAN
  • Patent number: 10878236
    Abstract: A head mounted display (HMD) comprises an eye tracking system configured to enable eye-tracking using light. The eye tracking system implements time-multiplexing by configuring a source assembly comprising a plurality of light sources to project at least a first light pattern towards the user's eye over a first time period, and a second light pattern towards the user's eye over a second time period in accordance with a set of emission instructions. A camera assembly is configured to capture images of the user's eye during the first and second time periods in accordance with a set of imaging instructions, the captured images containing one or more glints corresponding to reflections of the first or second light patterns on the cornea of the user's eye. The location of the glints may be used to determine a shape or orientation of the eye.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Dale Cavin, Alexander Jobe Fix, Andrew John Ouderkirk
  • Patent number: 10878594
    Abstract: Embodiments relate to a head-mounted display including an eye tracking system. The eye tracking system includes a source assembly, a camera, and a controller. In some embodiments, the source assembly is a plurality of sources and are positioned to illuminate at least a peripheral area of a cornea of an eye. In some embodiments, the sources are masked to be a particular shape. The peripheral region is a location on the eye where the cornea transitions to the sclera. In some embodiments, the camera can detect a polarization of the reflected light, and uses polarization to disambiguate possible reflection locations. Similarly, time of flight may also be used to disambiguate potential reflection locations. The controller uses information from the detector to track positions of the user's eyes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Dale Cavin, Alexander Jobe Fix, Andrew John Ouderkirk
  • Patent number: 10852817
    Abstract: Techniques for eye-tracking in a near-eye display system are disclosed. One example of a near-eye display system includes a waveguide-based display substrate transparent to visible light and configured to be placed in front of a user's eye. The waveguide-based display substrate includes a first light deflector configured to direct a first portion of invisible light reflected by the user's eye to a camera to form a first image of the user's eye in a first area of an image frame, and a second light deflector configured to direct a second portion of the invisible light reflected by the user's eye to the camera to form a second image of the user's eye in a second area of the image frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Andrew John Ouderkirk, Robert Dale Cavin, Alexander Jobe Fix, Ying Geng, Elias Daniel Guestrin, Karol Constantine Hatzilias, Robin Sharma, Yusufu Njoni Bamaxam Sulai
  • Patent number: 10852820
    Abstract: Systems and methods for enabling gaze-based virtual content control may include (1) displaying an artificial scene with one or more virtual elements to a user wearing a head-mounted display system, (2) identifying the user's eye gaze based on gazing data collected by one or more sensors in the head-mounted display system, (3) determining that the user's eye gaze is focused on a specific virtual element, and (4) in response to determining that the user's eye gaze is focused on the specific virtual element, increasing the specific virtual element's visibility to the user. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Andre Golard, Bo Asp Andersen, Immo Andreas Schuetz, Karol Constantine Hatzilias, Kelly Ingham, Martin Henrik Tall, Neeraj Choubey, Sharvil Shailesh Talati, Robert Dale Cavin, Thomas Scott Murdison
  • Patent number: 10848753
    Abstract: A head-mounted display includes an eye tracking system, implemented to determine the location of the user's gaze, which is configured using a scanning laser assembly, photodetector, and a controller. Light with wavelengths within the infrared range is emitted toward the user's eye from the scanning laser and is reflected off at various emission angles. The reflected light is detected by a photodetector or plurality of photodetectors located along a periphery of the optics block. The photodetector records a signal intensity, determined by the emission angle of the reflected infrared light. The controller, having been previously calibrated to indicate eye movements based on these varying signal intensities, provides information pertaining to the location of the user's eye.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Dale Cavin, Alexander Jobe Fix, Andrew John Ouderkirk
  • Patent number: 10838362
    Abstract: A system for making a holographic medium includes a light source configured to provide light, and a beam splitter configured to separate the light into a first portion of the light and a second portion of the light that is spatially separated from the first portion of the light. The system also includes a first set of optical elements configured to transmit the first portion of the light for providing a first wide-field beam onto an optically recordable medium, a second set of optical elements configured to transmit the second portion of the light for providing a second wide-field beam, and a plurality of prisms optically coupled with the second set of optical elements and configured to receive the second wide-field beam and project a plurality of separate light patterns onto the optically recordable medium for forming the holographic medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: FACEBOOK TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Ganghun Kim, Andrew Maimone, Alexander Jobe Fix, Robert Dale Cavin, Hee Yoon Lee, Matthieu Charles Raoul Leibovici, Brian Wheelwright, Douglas Robert Lanman
  • Patent number: 10831267
    Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include (i) determining, using an eye-tracking system, an orientation of at least one eye of a user, (ii) identifying, based at least in part on the orientation of the user's eye, a point of interest within a field of view of the user, (iii) determining that the point of interest is a candidate for tagging, and (iv) performing, in response to determining that the point of interest is the candidate for tagging, a tagging action that facilitates tagging of the point of interest. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Andre Golard, Bo Asp Andersen, Immo Andreas Schuetz, Karol Constantine Hatzilias, Kelly Ingham, Martin Henrik Tall, Neeraj Choubey, Sharvil Shailesh Talati, Robert Dale Cavin, Thomas Scott Murdison
  • Patent number: 10832051
    Abstract: A system tracks eye movement using optical coherence in a head mounted display. The system includes an illumination source configured to project low coherence interference light onto a portion of a user's eye. The system includes a scanning system to select an axial position within the illuminated portion of the user's eye. The system includes a detector configured to collect light reflected from the illuminated portion of the user's eye at the selected axial position, and the reflected light includes measurement data characterizing the illuminated portion of the user's eye. The system includes a controller configured to compare the measurement data with a trained baseline, and determine an eye position based the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Daniel Trail, Robert Dale Cavin
  • Patent number: 10831268
    Abstract: The disclosed computer-implemented method may include: identifying, using an eye-tracking system, an object within a scene viewed by a user; identifying, within a database of object interaction commands, a subset of commands that apply to the object viewed by the user; and presenting, to the user, the subset of commands that apply to the object. Various other methods, systems, devices, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Andre Golard, Bo Asp Andersen, Immo Andreas Schuetz, Karol Constantine Hatzilias, Kelly Ingham, Martin Henrik Tall, Neeraj Choubey, Thomas Scott Murdison, Sharvil Shailesh Talati, Robert Dale Cavin
  • Patent number: 10816809
    Abstract: An eye-tracking system includes a holographic illuminator and a detector. The holographic illuminator includes a light source configured to provide light and a holographic medium optically coupled with the light source. The holographic medium is configured to receive the light provided from the light source and concurrently project a plurality of separate light patterns toward an eye. The detector is configured to detect a reflection of at least a subset of the plurality of separate light patterns, reflected off the eye, for determining a location of a pupil of the eye. Also disclosed is a method for determining a location of a pupil of an eye with the eye-tracking system that includes the holographic illuminator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Ganghun Kim, Andrew Maimone, Alexander Jobe Fix, Robert Dale Cavin, Hee Yoon Lee, Matthieu Charles Raoul Leibovici, Brian Wheelwright, Douglas Robert Lanman
  • Patent number: 10761602
    Abstract: A retinal imaging system includes a projector, an imaging device, and a controller coupled to an eye tracking system under test. The projector emits a light pattern to be delivered to a pupil of an eye, a location of the pupil being estimated by the eye tracking system under test. The imaging device captures one or more images of a retina of the eye illuminated with at least a portion of the light pattern. The controller determines one or more eye tracking parameters based on the captured one or more images of the retina. The controller compares each determined eye tracking parameter with each of estimated one or more eye tracking parameters, wherein values for the one or more eye tracking parameters are estimated by the eye tracking system under test. The controller characterizes each estimated eye tracking parameter based on the comparison.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Robin Sharma, Nicholas Daniel Trail, Robert Dale Cavin, Kyle Justin Curts
  • Patent number: 10747009
    Abstract: An optical combiner for a head mounted display includes a refractive material having a refractive index and a Fresnel surface formed in the refractive material. The Fresnel surface includes a plurality of Fresnel features that include an active surface and a draft surface. An active surface angle supporting the active surface is substantially the same as a draft surface angle supporting the draft surface such that active surface and the draft surface are symmetrical.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Robin Sharma, Karol Constantine Hatzilias, Qi Zhang, Andrew John Ouderkirk, Robert Dale Cavin, Ying Geng
  • Patent number: 10747310
    Abstract: A time of flight (ToF) eye tracker includes an illumination source configured to emit pulses of light toward a pupil of an eye, wherein the pulses of light are retroreflected by a retina of the eye. The ToF eye tracker also includes a camera assembly configured to detect the retroreflected pulses of light. The ToF eye tracker also includes a controller configured to determine ToF information for one or more of the retroreflected pulses of light, and determine eye tracking information for the user's eye using the determined ToF information and a virtual eye model.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: Facebook Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Robert Dale Cavin, Alexander Jobe Fix, Andrew John Ouderkirk