SMI Eye Tracking In A Vive HMD, Hands-On

[scolaner]

At GDC, we met with SMI in Valve’s showcase area and got a chance to see what the companies built together.


SMI Eye Tracking In A Vive HMD, Hands-On : Read more

 

[NuiUser]

Anyone done any calculations on the dangers of having this many (how many?) IR LEDs thatclose to the eye? I know Tobii lists on their website that "it's safe" (with no proof).
I'm not talking about cancer, but damage to the eye from intensity - this is tricky: it isn't about Thermal (IR), but about regular absorption by the molecules in the Rods/Cones (eg, standard IR vibrations). There are studies from years ago saying that IR from cameras at a distance of ~0.5m (your webcam) are safe, but this is right at your eye! Even if pulsed (which it presumably is), it doesn't seem safe! Again, the difference is the fall-off of power with distance - a single strong LED far from the eye will be safe, but how many are they using here, and at what (time averaged) power?

 

[WhyAreYou]

Awesome articles, I feel like VR might be dangerous to the eyes, but definitely something to use as like an occasional gaming treat, don't wanna get dizzy

 

[JeffKang]

Anyone done any calculations on the dangers of having this many (how many?) IR LEDs thatclose to the eye? I know Tobii lists on their website that "it's safe" (with no proof).
I'm not talking about cancer, but damage to the eye from intensity - this is tricky: it isn't about Thermal (IR), but about regular absorption by the molecules in the Rods/Cones (eg, standard IR vibrations). There are studies from years ago saying that IR from cameras at a distance of ~0.5m (your webcam) are safe, but this is right at your eye! Even if pulsed (which it presumably is), it doesn't seem safe! Again, the difference is the fall-off of power with distance - a single strong LED far from the eye will be safe, but how many are they using here, and at what (time averaged) power?

Tobii went from

EyeX
Backlight Assisted Near Infrared
(NIR 850nm + red light (650nm))

to

4C
Near Infrared (NIR 850nm) Only

I don't know what that means.

I think that you're supposed to pulse the infrared to keep it safe.

That's why I'm looking forward to MIT and U. Georgia's GazeCapture eyetracking.
They use crowd-sourcing, deep-learning, and ordinary cameras.
There's a GazeCapture app where you can submit data so that their eye-tracking can keep improving its accuracy.

 

[Arne42]

"The problem, it turned out, was my glasses--specifically, when they fogged up."

Try heating your lenses with a hairdryer before wearing the HMD. The basic idea is to get the temperature of the lenses higher than that of the surrounding environment. Of course this is adding another cumbersome step to wearing which could be solved by HMD manufacturers.

We have a chilly lab and this "was" constantly an issue.

 

[scolaner]

"The problem, it turned out, was my glasses--specifically, when they fogged up."

Try heating your lenses with a hairdryer before wearing the HMD. The basic idea is to get the temperature of the lenses higher than that of the surrounding environment. Of course this is adding another cumbersome step to wearing which could be solved by HMD manufacturers.

We have a chilly lab and this "was" constantly an issue.

Good tip, thanks! An easier solution would be for me to wear contacts, but...[whiny kid voice] I don't wanna!

 

[scolaner]

Anyone done any calculations on the dangers of having this many (how many?) IR LEDs thatclose to the eye? I know Tobii lists on their website that "it's safe" (with no proof).
I'm not talking about cancer, but damage to the eye from intensity - this is tricky: it isn't about Thermal (IR), but about regular absorption by the molecules in the Rods/Cones (eg, standard IR vibrations). There are studies from years ago saying that IR from cameras at a distance of ~0.5m (your webcam) are safe, but this is right at your eye! Even if pulsed (which it presumably is), it doesn't seem safe! Again, the difference is the fall-off of power with distance - a single strong LED far from the eye will be safe, but how many are they using here, and at what (time averaged) power?

Tobii went from

EyeX
Backlight Assisted Near Infrared
(NIR 850nm + red light (650nm))

to

4C
Near Infrared (NIR 850nm) Only

I don't know what that means.

I think that you're supposed to pulse the infrared to keep it safe.

That's why I'm looking forward to MIT and U. Georgia's GazeCapture eyetracking.
They use crowd-sourcing, deep-learning, and ordinary cameras.
There's a GazeCapture app where you can submit data so that their eye-tracking can keep improving its accuracy.

That's quite interesting. I wonder if this will lead to new developments in optics and displays...