Current drain reduction in AR/VR display systems
View Patent ↗In some embodiments, eye tracking is used on an AR or VR display system to determine if a user of the display system is blinking or otherwise cannot see. In response, current drain or power usage of a display associated with the display system may be reduced, for example, by dimming or turning off a light source associated with the display, or by configuring a graphics driver to skip a designated number of frames or reduce a refresh rate for a designated period of time.
1. A display system with reduced power use, comprising:
an inward-facing sensor;
a display comprising a light source; and
processing electronics in communication with the inward-facing sensor and the display, the processing electronics configured to:
detect a first change in a user's eye status using the inward-facing sensor, the first change comprising an indication associated with a closed state of the user's eyes,
detect a second change in a user's eye status, the second change comprising an indication associated with an open state of the user's eyes,
reduce a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the first change in the user's eye status, wherein reducing the current drain of the display comprises dimming the light source of the display without turning off the light source, and
increase a current drain of the display system in response to the detected second change in the user's eye status,
wherein the first and second changes in the user's eye status is a blink.
2. A method for reducing power use of a display system, comprising:
detecting a first change in a user's eye status using an inward-facing sensor, the first change comprising an indication associated with a closed state of the user's eyes,
detecting a second change in a user's eye status, the second change comprising an indication associated with an open state of the user's eyes,
reducing a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the first change in the user's eye status, wherein reducing the current drain of the display comprises dimming a light source of the display without turning off the light source, and
increasing a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the second change in the user's eye status,
wherein the first and second changes in the user's eye status is a blink.
3. A display system with reduced power use, the display system comprising:
an inward-facing sensor;
a head-mounted display configured to be worn by a user and disposed on a frame configured to support said display thereon, said display configured to project light into said user's eye to display augmented reality image content to the user's vision field, at least a portion of said display being transparent and disposed at a location in front of the user's eye when the user wears the frame such that said transparent portion transmits light from a portion of an environment in front of the user and said head-mounted display to the user's eye to provide a view of said portion of the environment in front of the user and said head-mounted display; and
processing electronics in communication with the inward-facing sensor and the display, the processing electronics configured to:
detect a first change in a user's eye status using the inward-facing sensor, the first change comprising an indication associated with a closed state of the user's eyes,
detect a second change in a user's eye status, the second change comprising an indication associated with an open state of the user's eyes, and
reduce a current drain of the display system in response to the change in the user's eye status, wherein reducing the current drain of the display comprises configuring a graphics driver associated with the display to reduce an amount of power consumed by the display without turning off the display.
4. The display system of claim 3 , wherein the display comprises a light source, and wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises dimming the light source of the display.
5. The display system of claim 3 , wherein the graphics driver is further configured to skip a designated number of frames, the designated number of frames based upon a length of time that the user is unable to see.
6. The display system of claim 3 , wherein the processing electronics is configured to reduce the current drain of the display by reducing a refresh rate associated with the display.
7. A method for reducing power use of a display system, comprising:
detecting a first change in a user's eye status using an inward facing sensor, the first change comprising an indication associated with a closed state of the user's eyes,
detecting a second change in a user's eye status, the second change comprising an indication associated with an open state of the user's eyes,
reducing a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the first change in the user's eye status, wherein reducing the current drain of the display comprises configuring a graphics driver associated with a display to reduce an amount of power consumed by the display without turning off the display, and
increasing a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the second change in the user's eye status.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first and second changes in the user's eye status corresponds to a blink.
9. The method of claim 7 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises turning off the light source.
10. The method of claim 7 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises dimming the light source of the display.
11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the graphics driver is configured to skip a designated number of frames, the designated number of frames based upon a length of time that the user is unable to see.
12. The method of claim 7 , wherein the processing electronics is configured to further reduce the current drain of the display by reducing a refresh rate associated with the display.
13. A method for reducing power use of a display system, comprising:
detecting a first change in a user's eye status using an inward-facing sensor, the first change comprising an indication associated with a closed state of the user's eyes,
detecting a second change in a user's eye status, the second change comprising an indication associated with an open state of the user's eyes,
reducing a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the first change in the user's eye status, wherein reducing the current drain of the display comprises skipping a designated number of frames, the designated number of frames based upon a length of time that the user is unable to see, and
increasing a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the second change in the user's eye status.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first and second changes in the user's eye status corresponds to a blink.
15. The method of claim 13 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises turning off the light source.
16. The method of claim 13 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises dimming the light source of the display.
17. The method of claim 13 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises configuring a graphics driver associated with the display to reduce an amount of power consumed by the display.
18. The method of claim 13 , wherein the processing electronics is further configured to reduce the current drain of the display by reducing a refresh rate associated with the display.
19. A display system with reduced power use, comprising:
an inward-facing sensor;
a display; and
processing electronics in communication with the inward-facing sensor and the display, the processing electronics configured to:
detect a first change in a user's eye status using the inward-facing sensor, the first change comprising an indication associated with a closed state of the user's eyes,
detect a second change in a user's eye status, the second change comprising an indication associated with an open state of the user's eyes,
reduce a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the first change in the user's eye status, wherein reducing the current drain of the display comprises skipping a designated number of frames, the designated number of frames based upon a length of time that the user is unable to see, and
increase a current drain of the display system in response to the detected second change in the user's eye.
20. The display system of claim 19 , wherein the first and second changes in the user's eye status corresponds to a blink.
21. The display system of claim 19 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises turning off the light source.
22. The display system of claim 19 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises dimming the light source of the display.
23. The display system of claim 19 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises configuring a graphics driver associated with the display to reduce an amount of power consumed by the display.
24. The display system of claim 19 , wherein the processing electronics is further configured to reduce the current drain of the display by reducing a refresh rate associated with the display.
25. A method for reducing power use of a display system, comprising:
detecting a first change in a user's eye status using an inward-facing sensor, the first change comprising an indication associated with a closed state of the user's eyes,
detecting a second change in a user's eye status, the second change comprising an indication associated with an open state of the user's eyes,
reducing a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the first change in the user's eye status, wherein reducing the current drain of the display comprises reducing a refresh rate associated with the display without turning off the display, and
increasing a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the second change in the user's eye status.
26. The method of claim 25 , wherein the first and second changes in the user's eye status corresponds to a blink.
27. The method of claim 25 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises turning off the light source.
28. The method of claim 25 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises dimming the light source of the display.
29. The method of claim 25 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises configuring a graphics driver associated with the display to reduce an amount of power consumed by the display.
30. The method of claim 29 , wherein the graphics driver is further configured to skip a designated number of frames, the designated number of frames based upon a length of time that the user is unable to see.
31. A display system with reduced power use, comprising:
an inward-facing sensor;
a display; and
processing electronics in communication with the inward-facing sensor and the display, the processing electronics configured to:
detect a first change in a user's eye status using the inward-facing sensor, the first change comprising an indication associated with a closed state of the user's eyes,
detect a second change in a user's eye status, the second change comprising an indication associated with an open state of the user's eyes,
reduce a current drain of the display system in response to detecting the first change in the user's eye status, wherein reducing the current drain of the display comprises reducing a refresh rate associated with the display without turning off the display, and
increase a current drain of the display system in response to the detected second change in the user's eye status.
32. The display system of claim 31 , wherein the first and second changes in the user's eye status corresponds to a blink.
33. The display system of claim 31 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises turning off the light source.
34. The display system of claim 31 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises dimming the light source of the display.
35. The display system of claim 31 , wherein reducing the current drain of the display further comprises configuring a graphics driver associated with the display to reduce an amount of power consumed by the display.
36. The display system of claim 35 , wherein the graphics driver is further configured to skip a designated number of frames, the designated number of frames based upon a length of time that the user is unable to see.