Apple's new patent reveals: Vision Pro headset introduces polarized infrared light to enhance eye tracking function

According to news on January 4, Apple recently successfully obtained a technology patent related to the Vision Pro headset in the patent list published by the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO). The patent uses polarized light such as infrared (IR) to optimize and improve various eye-related functions and improve the performance of tracking devices. This new technology has great potential and will bring a better visual experience to users.

Apple pointed out that traditional eye tracking devices do not use polarized light technology, so there are certain limitations in practical applications. For example, when these devices capture images of the user's eyes, they may be interfered by reflections from eyelashes and eyelids, affecting the accuracy of iris recognition, eyeball or gaze tracking.

#To solve this problem, Apple introduced polarized infrared (IR) light technology in its new patent. According to the patent description, the headset is equipped with an advanced eye camera system that contains one or more infrared cameras specifically designed to capture clear images of the user's eyes. By processing these images, the system can perform iris recognition, gaze tracking, and other eye-related functions.

This eye camera system integrates at least one light polarization element, which plays a key role in capturing images of the user's eyes or other facial features. The presence of this element significantly improves the overall performance of the device. By using light polarizing elements, the system is able to more accurately capture the details of an eye or facial feature, providing more precise data and analysis. The application of this technology can play an important role in eye tracking, facial recognition and other eye-related applications.

Apple shows how this technology works in detail in patent illustrations. In one implementation, an infrared eye camera with infrared LEDs can accurately track eye changes. The system can efficiently process captured iris images, such as using iris recognition to determine whether the headset wearer has permission to use it. At the same time, the system can also analyze the eyeball image to determine the user's current visual axis and gaze position relative to the display screen.

In addition, Apple’s patent legend also shows the key components of the eye camera system in the HMD example. The eye camera images the reflection of the user's eyes through the eyepiece or eyeball lens, while the LED illuminates the eyes through the eyeball lens.

Apple illustrates the effect of using polarized light to enhance contrast. It can be clearly seen that the contrast at the iris-pupil boundary is lower when shooting with unpolarized light. After switching to polarized light shooting, the contrast of the iris image was significantly improved. This improvement is important for improving the accuracy of iris recognition and other eye-related functions.

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