Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Facebook Technologies, LLC

John Michael Lutian

Karlton David Powell

Dawson Yee

Steven Nabil Bathiche

Tristan Thomas Trutna

Sean Jason Keller

Timothy Andrew Large

Paul Henry Dietz

Jack Lindsay

Andrew Stanley

Serol Turkyilmaz

Kennard E Nielsen

R Thomas Gibbons, Ii

John R Lewis

Nigel Stuart Keam

Craig Steven Ranta

Casey Glick

Liang Wang

Sergey Ulyanov

Dan Rosenfeld

The disclosed computer-implemented method may include a fluidic device comprising a chamber, an inlet port coupled to the chamber and configured to convey fluid to the chamber, and an outlet port coupled to the chamber and configured to convey the fluid from the chamber. The fluidic device may also have a restricting region that (1) is dimensioned to restrict a flow of the fluid through the outlet port when the pressure in the chamber is below a threshold level and (2) is configured to move in a manner that allows a flow rate of the fluid through the outlet port to increase when pressure in the chamber reaches the threshold level.

Fluidic valve

A fluidic device controls fluid flow in channel from a source to a drain. In some embodiments, the fluidic devices comprise a gate, a channel, and an obstruction. The gate comprises at least one chamber whose volume increases with fluid pressure. A high-pressure state of the gate corresponds to a first chamber size and a low-pressure state of the gate corresponds to a second chamber size that is smaller than the first chamber size. The obstruction controls a rate of fluid flow within the channel based on the fluid pressure in the gate. The obstruction induces at most a first flow rate of fluid in the channel in accordance with the low-pressure state of the gate, and at least a second flow rate of the fluid in the channel in accordance with the high-pressure state of the gate.

Fluidic devices, haptic systems including fluidic devices, and related methods

A fluidic device controls fluid flow in channel from a source to a drain. In some embodiments, the fluidic devices comprises a gate, a channel, and an obstruction. The gate comprises at least one chamber whose volume increases with fluid pressure. A high pressure state of the gate corresponds to a first chamber size and a low pressure state of the gate corresponds to a second chamber size that is smaller than the first chamber size. The obstruction controls a rate of fluid flow within the channel based on the fluid pressure in the gate. The obstruction induces at most a first flow rate of fluid in the channel in accordance with the low pressure state of the gate, and at least a second flow rate of the fluid in the channel in accordance with the high pressure state of the gate.

Fluidic switching devices

Examples are provided for measuring force applied to a device, such as a stylus tip. An example stylus includes a stylus body, a stylus tip, and the stylus tip including a light emitting device and a compressible light reflecting optic, the light emitting device comprising a light emitter and a light detector, and the compressible light reflecting optic comprising a first reflective layer configured to (i) allow a first portion of light from the light emitting device to pass and (ii) to reflect a second portion of light from the light emitting device, and a second reflective layer, more reflective than the first reflective layer, configured to reflect light from the light emitting device, the first layer being spaced from the second layer by a light-transmissive material. A force exerted on the stylus tip is measurable based at least on a parameter of light received at the light detector.

Force sensor for a stylus

Tooling and optic elements for a retro-imaging system may be formed on order near atomic level of accuracy by making use of either etching or growth techniques of a cubic crystal lattice, such as silicon. The elements may be formed directly using selective etching or epitaxial growth by coating and clear resin lamination, or replicated to avoid shrinkage and curvature by use of low shrinkage resins or double-fill molding techniques. Through the use of these highly accurate reflection/diffraction elements, floating images may be formed with relatively high resolution in retro-reflective imaging systems, for example.

Increased accuracy corner cube arrays for high resolution retro-reflective imaging applications

An electronic display comprises a display matrix, an image-correcting layer, and a luminance-correcting layer. The display matrix includes a flat face portion, a curved corner portion, a light-releasing surface, and a series of pixels extending across the flat face portion and around the curved corner portion. Coupled to the light-releasing surface of the display matrix, the image-correcting layer is configured to transmit light released from the flat face portion of the display matrix and to reorient light released from the curved corner portion of the display matrix such that the transmitted light and the reoriented light exit the image-correcting layer substantially in parallel, forming an apparent plane image of the series of pixels. Arranged between the light-releasing display surface and the image-correcting layer, the luminance-correcting layer is configured to deflect the light released from the curved corner portion into an acceptance profile of the image-correcting layer.

Curved edge display with controlled luminance

An optical waveguide includes a waveguide body and a spatially-varying volume hologram. The volume hologram increases, in a coordinate direction along the volume hologram, an angle of incidence by which light propagating in the waveguide body via total internal reflection is released from the waveguide body. The optical waveguide may form part of an optical system that includes one or more light sources and/or optical sensors.

Optical waveguide including spatially-varying volume hologram

An optical sensing device can receive a speckle pattern generated by a laser's interaction with acoustically stimulated tissue. A computing device can identify one or more characteristics within the received speckle pattern. The computing device can then identify a match of the one or more characteristics to a user biometric signature stored within a storage device. Based upon the identified match, the system can authenticate a user within a computer system.

Personal identification via acoustically stimulated biospeckles

Interactive sensing in retro-reflective imaging systems may be enabled through auto-alignment of an infrared (IR) illumination region with a floating image region by transmitting IR light, added on or within a display, through the same optical path as the visible floating image light. The IR illumination at the display may be either a flood of light or structured light. In some implementations, stereo vision based imaging techniques may be employed in conjunction with an auto-aligned IR floating image to provide illumination for a stereo imaging system and to provide position sensing for interaction.

Auto-aligned illumination for interactive sensing in retro-reflective imaging applications

A pressure-sensitive multi-touch device is provided. The multi-touch device includes a matrix of pressure-sensitive cells, each pressure-sensitive cell configured to change a resistance of the cell inversely proportional to an amount of force applied to that cell. The multi-touch device further includes a force-spreading layer configured to diffuse a force of a touch input at a contact area to two or more pressure-sensitive cells within the matrix of pressure-sensitive cells.

Pressure-sensitive multi-touch device

Optical stylus interaction techniques are described. In an implementation, a display of a computing device includes optical sensors capable of detecting images projected by a stylus. A stylus may include a projection system to project various images used to convey interaction information that may be interpreted by the computing device. Based on recognition of different projected images, a context for interaction of the stylus may be ascertained and corresponding operations may be performed by the computing device. This may include resolving a spatial position of the stylus relative to the display device as well as movement of the stylus and images that defines various stylus-based gestures. In addition, the environment for optical stylus interaction enables a writing mode that emulates natural writing by mapping different projectable images to changes in pressure applied to the stylus when in contact with the display.

Optical stylus interaction

Techniques are provided for determining distance to an object in a depth camera's field of view. The techniques may include raster scanning light over the object and detecting reflected light from the object. One or more distances to the object may be determined based on the reflected image. A 3D mapping of the object may be generated. The distance(s) to the object may be determined based on times-of-flight between transmitting the light from a light source in the camera to receiving the reflected image from the object. Raster scanning the light may include raster scanning a pattern into the field of view. Determining the distance(s) to the object may include determining spatial differences between a reflected image of the pattern that is received at the camera and a reference pattern.

Raster scanning for depth detection

A pressure-sensitive multi-touch device is provided. The multi-touch device includes a matrix of pressure-sensitive cells, each pressure-sensitive cell configured to change a resistance of the cell inversely proportional to an amount of force applied to that cell. The multi-touch device further includes a spacer assembly between pressure-sensitive cells.

A gaze accurate video conferencing system includes a screen that alternates between a light-scattering state and a substantially transparent state. A camera is positioned behind the screen and is configured to capture images of a user positioned in front of the screen when the screen is in its substantially transparent state. When the screen is in its substantially light-scattering state, a projector projects a display image on the screen.

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Bellevue, WA, United States of America

John Michael Lutian