Eye tracking system for use in head-mounted display units and method of operating same

Abstract

A virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) wearable assembly is described herein. The VR/AR wearable assembly includes a support frame, a display mounted to the support frame, a plurality of light emitters configured to illuminate an area of a subject's eye, a plurality of photosensors configured to receive reflected light from different portions of the illuminated subject's eye, and a controller operatively coupled to the display, the plurality of light emitters, and the plurality of photosensors. The controller includes a processor programmed to execute an algorithm including the steps of alternating illumination of the light emitters to generate predefined lighting patterns, acquiring data from the plurality of photosensors when corresponding light emitters are illuminated, mapping intensities of reflected light based on the acquired data from the plurality of photosensors, and determining a gaze position of the subject's eye based on the mapped intensities of reflected light.