June 8th, 2009
Heads up! Interactive data eyeglasses
A team of scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS in Dresden, Germany, is working on a device which incorporates eye tracking to influence the content presented to the viewer. Without having to use any other devices to enter instructions, the wearer can display new content, scroll through a menu or shift picture elements simply by moving her eyes or fixing on certain points in the image.
The data eyeglasses display information and respond to commands. Credit: Fraunhofer IPMS
“We want to make the eyeglasses bidirectional and interactive so that new areas of application can be opened up,” says Dr. Michael Scholles, business unit manager at IPMS.
According to Scholles, the bidirectional data eyeglasses will yield advantages over current head-mounted displays (HMDs) by providing information at the point of task to people who do not have their hands free to operate a keyboard or mouse. For example, mechanics could view superimposed schematic diagrams over machinery that they’re working on, and an operating surgeon can access a patients’ vital functions, MRT and x-ray images.
According to a news item on the IPMS site, the team have integrated their system’s eye tracker and image reproduction on a CMOS chip, making the HMDs small, light, easy to manufacture and inexpensive. Below is how the eyeglass display works:
The chip measuring 19.3 by 17 millimeters is fitted on the prototype eyeglasses behind the hinge on the temple. From the temple the image on the microdisplay is projected onto the retina of the user so that it appears to be viewed from a distance of about one meter. The image has to outshine the ambient light to ensure that it can be seen clearly against changing and highly contrasting backgrounds. For this reason the research scientists use OLEDs, organic light-emitting diodes, to produce microdisplays of particularly high luminance.
With his team and colleagues from other Fraunhofer institutes, Scholles is already working on the next development stage of the bidirectional eyeglasses, but there is no word on when the devices will be available on the market.
First developed for use in military aircraft, head-mounted displays (HMDs), aka head up displays (HUDs), may eventually be as commonplace as Bluetooth headsets, but hopefully not as conspicuous.
Christopher Jablonski is a freelance technology writer. Previously, he was the manager of marketing editorial at CBS Interactive, delivering client solutions on BNET, ZDNet, and TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 06/11/09
