Snap Inc.

Gerald Nilles

Jason Heger

Yu Jiang Tham

John James Robertson

Praveen Babu Vadivelu

Jonathan M Rodriguez, Ii

Nir Daube

Patrick Timothy Mcsweeney Simons

Matthias Kalkgruber

Russell Douglas Patton

Dmitry Ryuma

Anton Kondratenko

Raul Alejandro Perez

Daniel Wagner

Daniel Wolf

Andrea Ashwood

Sumant Milind Hanumante

Jeroen Diederik Hol

Shaheen Moubedi

Mathieu Emmanuel Vignau

Bernhard Jung

Erick Mendez Mendez

Alex Feinman

Edward Lee Kim-Koon

Alexander Sourov

Niall Murphy

Patrick Timothy McSweeney Simons

Alex Bamberger

Dunxu Hu

Miran Alhaideri

John Recchio

Stephen Andrew Steger

Ugur Olgun

Nicholas Larson

Bo Ding

Choonshin You

Michael Wollman

Alexander Kane

Mingyang Chai

Mehmood Zafarullahkhan

Chintan Doshi

Eric Nachtigall

Jonathan M Ii Rodriguez

Devices and methods for dynamic power configuration (e.g., reduction) for thermal management (e.g., mitigation) in a wearable electronic device such as an eyewear device. The wearable electronic device monitors its temperature and, responsive to the temperature, configures the services it provides to operate in different modes for thermal mitigation (e.g., to prevent overheating). For example, based on temperature, the wearable electronic device adjusts sensors (e.g., turns cameras on or off, changes the sampling rate, or a combination thereof) and adjusts display components (e.g., adjusted rate at which a graphical processing unit generates images and a visual display is updated). This enables the wearable electronic device to consume less power when temperatures are too high in order to provide thermal mitigation.

Eyewear device dynamic power configuration

An eyewear device that includes a plurality of SoCs that share processing workload, and a USB port configured to perform low-power debugging and automation of the plurality of SoCs, such as using either a Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter (UART) or a Serial Wire Debug (SWD). The eyewear includes a USB hub configured such that the USB port can simultaneously communicate with the plurality of SoCs. The USB hub can be shut down to disable the USB hub, and all the SoCs can enter their low-power modes without being kept awake by a persistent USB connection. The eyewear includes a first switch and a control logic, wherein the control logic controls the first switch and enables the USB port to perform low-power debugging and automation of the SoCs. The eyewear further includes a second switch, wherein the control logic controls the second switch to enable the USB port to perform low-power debugging and automation of the SoCs via a processor, or to enable the USB port to control each of the SoCs.

Debug access of eyewear having multiple SoCs

Eyewear devices that include two SoCs that share processing workload. Instead of using a single SoC located either on the left or right side of the eyewear devices, the two SoCs have different assigned responsibilities to operate different devices and perform different processes to balance workload. In one example, the eyewear device utilizes a first SoC to operate a first color camera, a second color camera, a first display, and a second display. The first SoC and a second SoC are configured to selectively operate a first and second computer vision (CV) camera algorithms. The first SoC is configured to perform visual odometry (VIO), track hand gestures of the user, and provide depth from stereo images. This configuration provides organized logistics to efficiently operate various features, and balanced power consumption.

Dual system on a chip eyewear

Eyewear devices that include two SoCs that share processing workload. Instead of using a single SoC located either on the left or right side of the eyewear devices, the two SoCs have different assigned responsibilities to operate different devices and perform different processes to balance workload. In one example, the eyewear device utilizes a first SoC to operate the OS, a first color camera, a second color camera, a first display, and a second display. A second SoC is configured to run computer vision (CV) algorithms, visual odometry (VIO), tracking hand gestures of the user, and providing depth from stereo. This configuration provides organized logistics to efficiently operate various features, and balanced power consumption.

A method of dissipating heat generated by imaging devices and processing devices of a wearable electronic eyewear device includes providing a first heat sink thermally connecting the imaging devices to a frame of the eyewear device to sink heat to the frame and providing a second heat sink thermally connecting the processing devices to respective temples of the eyewear device to sink heat to the respective temples. The first and second heat sinks are thermally insulated from each other to direct the heat to different portions of the eyewear device. The processing devices may include a first co-processor disposed in a first temple connected to a first end of the frame and a second co-processor disposed in a second temple connected to a second end of the frame. The resulting eyewear device spreads the heat from heat generating devices over a larger area to minimize overall heating.

Thermal architecture for smart glasses

Eyewear devices that include two SoCs that share processing workload. Instead of using a single SoC located either on the left or right side of the eyewear devices, the two SoCs have different assigned responsibilities to operate different devices and perform different processes to balance workload. In one example, the eyewear device utilizes a first SoC to operate displays, and it performs three-dimensional graphics and compositing. A second SoC operates first and second color cameras, first and second computer vision (CV) cameras, an operating system (OS), CV algorithms, and visual odometry (VIO), and it performs hand gesture tracking of the user and provides depth from stereo images. This configuration provides organized logistics to efficiently operate various features, and balanced power consumption.

Eyewear including a voltage controller in the frame that generates dynamic analog control signals to control voltage regulators in the temple. The voltage regulators include a voltage rail for each electronic component in the temple. A separate analog control loop is coupled to each voltage regulator and receives the respective analog control signal. Each voltage regulator generates a rail voltage on the respective voltage rail that is controlled by the respective analog control signal. The analog control loop configures the respective voltage regulator as a voltage follower regulator such that the respective rail voltage follows a voltage of the analog control signal. A power source, such as a battery, is included in the temple and provides the operating power to each electronic component, and power is not communicated across a hinge to the temple electronic components.

Eyewear with dynamic voltage rails to remote loads

An eyewear device having an image processor operable in a camera pipeline for computer vision (CV) and in augmented reality (AR) systems. The image processor is configured to selectively control a plurality of cameras to provide images having a first resolution in the high power AR mode, and to provide the images having a second resolution in the low power CV mode. The first resolution is higher than the second resolution, and the plurality of cameras consume less power in the CV mode than the AR mode. The image processor controls the camera pipeline to process the first resolution high IQ images from the plurality of cameras to operate in the AR mode, and controls the camera pipeline to process the second resolution lower IQ images from the plurality of cameras to operate in the CV mode. Substantial power is saved by reducing the resolution of the images using downscaling in the cameras themselves in the CV mode.

Ultra low power camera pipeline for CV in AR systems

A method for improving the startup time of a six-degrees of freedom tracking system is described. An augmented reality system receives a device initialization request and activates a first set of sensors in response to the device initialization request. The augmented reality system receives first tracking data from the first set of sensors. The augmented reality system receives an augmented reality experience request and in response to the augmented reality request, causes display of a set of augmented reality content items based on the first tracking data and simultaneously activates a second set of sensors. The augmented reality system receives second tracking data from the activated second set of sensors. The augmented reality system updates the display of the set of augmented reality content items based on the second tracking data.

Reducing startup time of augmented reality experience

A phase change material (PCM) is positioned about a battery of an eyewear device such that a latent energy of the PCM transfers to the battery as the ambient temperature drops to maintain a battery temperature. The latent energy maintains the temperature of the battery until the PCM loses it latent energy and converts to a solid phase. At normal operating temperatures, the PCM is in the liquid phase.

Eyewear device battery with phase change material for temperature regulation

A method and apparatus for monitoring a surface temperature of eyewear proximate a processor to understand the surface temperature as a function of computer instructions, such as when the computer instructions are modified during software design. A sensor is coupled to the eyewear proximate the processor, such as at a temple of the eyewear including the processor, using one or more layers of tape. A server provides instructions to the processor for execution, such as instructions of an application, which instructions vary the utilization of the processor. A testing device, such as a digital multi-meter, is coupled to the sensor, as well as the server, and displays the surface temperature as a function of the processor utilization. The surface temperature of the eyewear is monitored to ensure the surface temperature does not exceed a temperature threshold.

Eyewear surface temperature evaluation

Methods and systems are disclosed for detecting whether a wearable device is being worn by a user. The system transmits a radio signal from a first communication device of a wearable device to a second communication device of the wearable device and measures a signal strength associated with the radio signal received by the second communication device. The system compares the signal strength to a threshold value and generates an indication of a wear status associated with the wearable device based on comparing the signal strength to the threshold value.

Detecting wear status of wearable device

Systems, methods, devices, computer readable media, and other various embodiments are described for location management processes in wearable electronic devices. Performance of such devices is improved with reduced time to first fix of location operations in conjunction with low-power operations. In one embodiment, low-power circuitry manages high-speed circuitry and location circuitry to provide location assistance data from the high-speed circuitry to the low-power circuitry automatically on initiation of location fix operations as the high-speed circuitry and location circuitry are booted from low-power states. In some embodiments, the high-speed circuitry is returned to a low-power state prior to completion of a location fix and after capture of content associated with initiation of the location fix. In some embodiments, high-speed circuitry is booted after completion of a location fix to update location data associated with content.

Wearable device location systems

Eyewear device that includes two SoCs that share processing workload. Instead of using a single SoC located either on the left or right side of the eyewear device, the two SoCs have different assigned responsibilities to operate different devices and perform different processes to balance workload. In one example, the eyewear device utilizes a first SoC to operate all peripheral components, and a second SoC performing computational tasks. This is a low-risk architecture since the second SoC is not required to operate any of the peripherals, and it has low standby power since the second SoC can be fully shutdown in a low-power mode. The second SoC does not have any direct access to camera data, so an interprocessor communication bus continuously transmits camera buffer data for most augmented reality (AR) compute tasks. This configuration provides organized logistics to efficiently operate various features, and balanced power consumption.

Eyewear including a frame having a first side and a second side, a first temple extending from the first side of the frame, a second temple extending from the second side of the frame, electronic components, a first system on a chip (SoC) adjacent the first side of the frame coupled to a first set of the electronic components, and a second system on a chip adjacent the second side, the second SoC coupled to the first SoC and to a second set of the plurality of electronic components. Processing workloads are balanced between the first SoC and the second SoC by performing a first set of operations with the first SoC and performing a second set of operations with the second SoC.

Growing community of inventors

Culver City, CA, United States of America

Gerald Nilles