Abstract: An AR system includes a user interface, one or more sensors arranged to generate sensor data representing part of an environment in which a user of the AR system is located, and a memory. The memory is arranged to store object association data associating the user with one or more objects in the environment, and object location data indicating a respective location of each of the one or more objects. The AR system is arranged to determine a position of the user; determine an updated location of one of the one or more objects in dependence on the generated sensor data and the determined position of the user, update the stored object location data to indicate the determined updated location of said one of the one or more objects, and output information depending on the updated location of said one of the one or more objects via the user interface.

Abstract: A head-mounted display (HMD) comprising a first side for facing a user of the HMD, a second side opposite to the first side, and a reflective layer for at least partially reflecting incident light incident on the second side. At least one processor of the HMD is configured to obtain luminance data indicative of a luminance of the incident light and control a display device, based on the luminance data, to control a luminance of a portion of emitted light directed towards the user of the HMD during the display of the image. Further examples relate to an HMD with a display device configured to emit light of at least one predetermined wavelength range during display of an image by the display device, and a layer arranged to at least partially prevent transmission of the light of the at least one predetermined wavelength range outward from the HMD.

Abstract: A data processor includes an execution unit that executes instructions to perform data processing operations, a register file operable to store data values for use by and produced by the execution unit, and a buffer intermediate between the register file for providing data values from the register file to the execution unit for use when executing an instruction, and to receive output data values from the execution unit for writing to the register file. Instructions to be executed by the execution unit of the data processor have associated buffer eviction priority indications representative of a priority for eviction from the buffer of an output data value that will be generated when executing the instruction. The buffer eviction priority indications are then used when selecting data values to evict from the buffer.

Abstract: A data processing system utilizes non-volatile storage to store constant values. An instruction decoder decodes program instructions to generate control signals to control processing circuitry to perform processing operations which may include processing operations corresponding to constant-using program instructions. Such constant-using program instructions may include one or more operation specifying fields and one or more argument specifying fields which control the processing circuitry to generate an output value equal to that given by reading one or more constant values from the non-volatile storage, optionally modifying such a value, and then performing the processing operation upon the value, or the modified value, to generate an output value.

Abstract: A head-mounted unit for assisting a user, such as a hearing-impaired user, is provided. The head-mounted unit comprises tracking sensors for monitoring a user wearing the head-mounted unit in order to determine a gaze direction which the user is looking. A sensor detects a sound source located in the identified gaze direction. Sound from the sound source may be recognised using speech recognition on captured audio from the sound source or computer vision on images of the sound source. A user interface provides information to the user to assist the user in recognising sound from the sound source.

Abstract: An AR system includes a user interface, one or more sensors arranged to generate sensor data representing part of an environment in which a user of the AR system is located, and a memory. The memory is arranged to store object association data associating the user with one or more objects in the environment, and object location data indicating a respective location of each of the one or more objects. The AR system is arranged to determine a position of the user; determine an updated location of one of the one or more objects in dependence on the generated sensor data and the determined position of the user, update the stored object location data to indicate the determined updated location of said one of the one or more objects, and output information depending on the updated location of said one of the one or more objects via the user interface.

Abstract: A head-mounted display (HMD) comprising a first side for facing a user of the HMD, a second side opposite to the first side, and a reflective layer for at least partially reflecting incident light incident on the second side. At least one processor of the HMD is configured to obtain luminance data indicative of a luminance of the incident light and control a display device, based on the luminance data, to control a luminance of a portion of emitted light directed towards the user of the HMD during the display of the image. Further examples relate to an HMD with a display device configured to emit light of at least one predetermined wavelength range during display of an image by the display device, and a layer arranged to at least partially prevent transmission of the light of the at least one predetermined wavelength range outward from the HMD.

Abstract: A sequence of instructions is included in a graphics processing shader program for controlling the way in which blending is implemented. The sequence of instructions includes a blend instruction which determines whether blending for a processing item is to be performed by fixed-function blending hardware or by executing a blend shader routine. If blend shading is to be performed, a sequence of instructions for setting up and performing blend shading is executed. If fixed-function blending is to be performed, an execution thread initiates fixed-function blending in response to the blend instruction, and skips over the sequence of instructions for setting up and performing blend shading.

Abstract: A plurality electronic alarms may be provided, which when activated, indicate a route to at least one exit. A plurality may be one electronic alarm, and the alarms may emit an audible sound, such as a voice informing people within the building of a distance/direction to an exit. A plurality may be one or more electronic alarms, and when more than one alarm is provided, each alarm may generate a different audible sound, such that a person can determine a direction in which to travel to exit the building. The sound emitted from different alarms may differ in pitch or frequency of modulation. In addition, the sound emitted from different alarms may be sequenced in the direction of travel. In addition, or alternatively, the plurality of alarms may produce visual cues indicating the direction in which to travel to exit the building. The visual cues may also be sequenced in the direction of travel.

Abstract: A method of producing a full resolution frame, comprising generating a tile representation of the frame. The tile representation comprises a plurality of tiles each associated with an area of the frame. The method also includes eliminating one or more predetermined portions of each tile and rendering retained portions of each tile to produce rendered tiles. The method also transforms the rendered tiles into processed tiles. The full resolution frame is then constructed from the processed tiles.

Abstract: A data processor includes an execution unit that executes instructions to perform data processing operations, a register file operable to store data values for use by and produced by the execution unit, and a buffer intermediate between the register file for providing data values from the register file to the execution unit for use when executing an instruction, and to receive output data values from the execution unit for writing to the register file. Instructions to be executed by the execution unit of the data processor have associated buffer eviction priority indications representative of a priority for eviction from the buffer of an output data value that will be generated when executing the instruction. The buffer eviction priority indications are then used when selecting data values to evict from the buffer.

Abstract: An instruction is included in a program, which instruction causes execution threads of a processor executing the program to determine whether they satisfy a condition which can only be satisfied by a subset of one or more execution threads at any one time. If a thread satisfies the condition, it executes subsequent instructions in the program. Otherwise, the thread sleeps. The subsequent instructions in the program can accordingly be executed by one execution thread subset at a time in serial order.

Abstract: Examples of the present disclosure relate to methods for processing image data. In one such example, first data representing a rendered image is received. In some cases, second data useable to identify at least one target region of the rendered image is received, the at least one target region being associated with a gaze direction of a viewer. A first portion of the first data is processed in accordance with a first data reduction rate to derive first processed data, the first portion representing the at least one target region. A second portion of the first data is processed in accordance with a second data reduction rate, different from the first data reduction rate. The second portion represents a further region of the rendered image, different from the at least one target image. At least the first processed data is outputted.

Abstract: A shader program to be executed by a graphics processor has associated with it a start instruction indication, indicating the instruction in the sequence of instructions for the program at which execution of the program should be started by an execution thread, and includes a set-entry instruction, which, when executed by a thread, will cause the start instruction indication to be modified to indicate a different instruction in the sequence of instructions for the program at which execution of the program should be started by an execution thread. When executing the program, execution threads determine from the start instruction indication associated with the program, the instruction in the sequence of instructions for the program at which they should start execution of the program.

Abstract: A method of processing input data using a computing system. The method comprises obtaining association data which relates a kernel in a convolutional neural network to one or more known data patterns; conducting analysis of input data for the convolutional neural network to identify whether a region of input data corresponds to at least one of the one or more known data patterns; and determining whether to process the region of input data with the kernel in the convolutional neural network based on the analysis and the association data.

Abstract: A sequence of instructions is included in a graphics processing shader program for controlling the way in which blending is implemented. The sequence of instructions includes a blend instruction which determines whether blending for a processing item is to be performed by fixed-function blending hardware or by executing a blend shader routine. If blend shading is to be performed, a sequence of instructions for setting up and performing blend shading is executed. If fixed-function blending is to be performed, an execution thread initiates fixed-function blending in response to the blend instruction, and skips over the sequence of instructions for setting up and performing blend shading.

Abstract: An instruction is included in a program, which instruction causes execution threads of a processor executing the program to determine whether they satisfy a condition which can only be satisfied by a subset of one or more execution threads at any one time. If a thread satisfies the condition, it executes subsequent instructions in the program. Otherwise, the thread sleeps. The subsequent instructions in the program can accordingly be executed by one execution thread subset at a time in serial order.

Abstract: A method of processing input data using a computing system. The method comprises obtaining association data which relates a kernel in a convolutional neural network to one or more known data patterns; conducting analysis of input data for the convolutional neural network to identify whether a region of input data corresponds to at least one of the one or more known data patterns; and determining whether to process the region of input data with the kernel in the convolutional neural network based on the analysis and the association data.

Abstract: A method of producing a full resolution frame, comprising generating a tile representation of the frame. The tile representation comprises a plurality of tiles each associated with an area of the frame. The method also includes eliminating one or more predetermined portions of each tile and rendering retained portions of each tile to produce rendered tiles. The method also transforms the rendered tiles into processed tiles. The full resolution frame is then constructed from the processed tiles.

Abstract: Examples of the present disclosure relate to methods for processing image data. In one such example, first data representing a rendered image is received. In some cases, second data useable to identify at least one target region of the rendered image is received, the at least one target region being associated with a gaze direction of a viewer. A first portion of the first data is processed in accordance with a first data reduction rate to derive first processed data, the first portion representing the at least one target region. A second portion of the first data is processed in accordance with a second data reduction rate, different from the first data reduction rate. The second portion represents a further region of the rendered image, different from the at least one target image. At least the first processed data is outputted.