Snap Inc.

Jason Heger

Gerald Nilles

Praveen Babu Vadivelu

Yu Jiang Tham

John James Robertson

Dmitry Ryuma

Patrick Timothy Mcsweeney Simons

Russell Douglas Patton

Daniel Wagner

Ugur Olgun

Dunxu Hu

Alex Feinman

Samuel Ahn

Matthias Kalkgruber

Shaheen Moubedi

Erick Mendez Mendez

Jordan Wakser

John Recchio

Eric Nachtigall

Eyewear including a sensor integrated into frame of eyewear. In one example, the sensor comprises a strain gauge, such as a metallic foil gauge, that is configured to sense and measure distortion of the frame when worn by a user and under different force profiles, by measuring a strain in the frame when bent. The measured strain by strain gauge is sensed by a processor, and the processor performs dynamic calibration of image processing based on the measured strain. The distortion measured by the strain gauge is used by the processor to correct calibration of the cameras, and the displays.

Eyewear with strain gauge estimation

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.

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 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.

An eyewear device including a strain gauge sensor to determine when the eyewear device is manipulated by a user, such as being put on, taken off, and interacted with. A processor identifies a signature event based on sensor signals received from the strain gauge sensor and a data table of strain gauge sensor measurements corresponding to signature events. The processor controls the eyewear device as a function of the identified signature event, such as powering on a display of the eyewear device as the eyewear device is being put on a user's head, and then turning off the display when the eyewear device is removed from the user's head.

Eyewear with strain gauge wear detection

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.

Examples include a wearable device having a frame, a temple and onboard electronics components. The frame can optionally configured to hold one or more optical elements. T temple can optionally connected to the frame at a joint such that the temple is disposable between a collapsed condition and a wearable condition in which the wearable device is wearable by a user to hold the one or more optical elements within user view. The onboard electronics components can be carried by at least one of the frame and the temple and can include a first antenna configured for cellular communication carried by the frame and a second antenna configured for cellular communication carried by one of the frame or the temple.

Cellular antenna architectures for AR capable wearable devices

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.

Eyewear with a system on a chip with simultaneous USB communications

An electronic eyewear device includes first and second systems on a chip (SoCs) having independent time bases that are synchronized by generating a common clock signal from a clock generator of the first SoC and simultaneously applying the common clock signal to a first counter of the first SoC and a second counter of the second SoC whereby the first counter and the second counter count clock edges of the common clock. The clock counts are shared through an interface between the first SoC and the second SoC and compared to each other. When the clock counts are different, a clock count of the first counter or the second counter is adjusted to cause the clock counts to match each other. The adjusted clock count is synchronized to the respective clocks of the first and second SoCs, thus synchronizing the first and second SoCs to each other.

Synchronizing systems on a chip using a shared clock

Eyewear including a projector having a variable feedback loop controlling a forward current delivered to a colored light source. The colored light source is configured to generate a colored light beam to generate a displayed image. The variable feedback loop in one example has a variable resistance to selectively generate a high brightness image when the eyewear is operated outside, or in a high ambient light setting, and to selectively generate a nominal brightness image when the eyewear is operated inside. A controller selectively controls the drive current delivered to the colored light source to control the brightness mode of the image.

Eyewear projector brightness control

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.

Wearable device location systems architecture

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.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, CO, United States of America

Jason Heger