Valve Corporation

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Kameron Wade Rausch

Joshua Mark Hudman

Michael Anthony Hall

Daniel Gilbert Kennett

Jonathan Ross Hoof

Abdelrehim Ahmed

Beibei Cheng

Douglas Vanderwel

Ben Walker

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods of object tracking for use in various applications, such as eye tracking in virtual reality or augmented reality applications that include head-mounted display devices. An eye tracking system may be provided that includes a plurality of assemblies that each include a light detector, such as a quadrant photodetector, and an imaging lens configured to generate an image of the eye on the quadrant photodetector. Machine learning or other techniques may be used to track or otherwise determine a user's gaze direction, which may be used by one or more components of an HMD device to improve its functionality in various ways.

Optical tracking including imaging-based angle sensitive detectors

Methods and systems relating generally to information displays, and more particularly to systems and methods for backlight assemblies for information displays that include light expanding structures. A backlight assembly may include light expander structures that include a plurality of layer sets, wherein each layer set includes a reflective polarizer layer and a wave retarder layer. The layer sets may together be operative transform point light source, such as a laser light beam, into a surface light source for use as a backlight for various types of information displays.

Display backlight with light expander structures

Systems and methods for tracking the position of a head-mounted display (HMD) system component. The HMD component may carry a plurality of angle sensitive detectors that are able to detect the angle of light emitted from a light source. The HMD component may include one or more scatter detectors that detect whether light has been scattered or reflected, so such light can be ignored. Control circuitry causes light sources to emit light according a specified pattern, and receives sensor data from the plurality of angle sensitive detectors. The processor may process the sensor data and scatter detector data, for example using machine learning or other techniques, to track a position of the HMD component. An angle sensitive detector may include a spatially-varying polarizer having a position-varying polarizing pattern and one or more polarizer layers that together are operative to detect the angle of impinging light.

Position tracking system for head-mounted display systems

Systems and methods for providing a polarimetry camera operative to obtain high fidelity surface characterization measurements. A polarimetry camera may include an multi-twist retarder component that is operative selectively switch between two or more polarization filtering states, wherein in each polarization filtering state, the multi-twist retarder component only passes light having a particular polarization state or orientation (e.g., horizontal linear polarization, vertical linear polarization, 45 degree linear polarization, circular polarization) and reflects or absorbs light having other polarization states. The multi-twist retarder may also include one or more diffraction patterns that focus light. The polarimetry camera may capture images using a sensor array as the multi-twist retarder is switched between the at least two polarization filtering states, thereby capturing a sequence of polarization specific images that may be displayed or used to determine one or more Stokes parameters for a scene in real-time.

Polarimetry camera for high fidelity surface characterization measurements

Improved illumination optics for various applications. The illumination optics may include an optical beam spreading structure that provides a large spread angle for an incident collimated beam or provides finer detail or resolution compared to convention diffractive optical elements. The optical beam spreading structure may include first and second spatially varying polarizers that are optically aligned with each other. The first and second spatially varying polarizers may be formed of a liquid crystal material, such as a multi-twist retarder (MTR). The first and second spatially varying polarizers may diffract light of orthogonal polarization states, which allows for different diffraction patterns to be used in a single optical structure. The two patterns may provide a combined field of view that is larger than either of the first and second fields of view or may provide finer detail or resolution than the first or second fields of view can provide alone.

Polarization-based multiplexing of diffractive elements for illumination optics

Systems and methods of providing stereo depth cameras for head-mounted display systems that require less memory and/or processing power. The stereo depth camera may include a left camera and a right camera spaced apart from each other by a distance. Each of the left and right cameras may be skewed outward by a non-zero angle from a forward direction of the head-mounted display system to provide a relatively wide field of view for the stereo depth camera. Each of the left and right cameras may include a camera sensor array and a camera lens positioned forward of the camera sensor array. Each of the camera lenses may include an optical axis that is laterally offset from the center of the associated camera sensor array toward a center of the support structure to center the left camera lens substantially on a scene center or principal point.

Reduced bandwidth stereo distortion correction for fisheye lenses of head-mounted displays

An active illumination range camera that acquires a range and a picture image of a scene and provides a reflectance for a feature in the scene responsive to a distance for the feature provided by the range image, a registered irradiance for the feature provided by the picture image and registered irradiance for a region of a calibration surface corresponding to the feature provided by an image of the calibration surface acquired by the range camera.

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Sammamish, WA, United States of America

Kameron Wade Rausch