Gaze tracking using non-circular lights

1. A gaze-tracking system for use in a head-mounted display apparatus, the gaze-tracking system comprising:

a plurality of non-circular light sources that, in operation, emit light for illuminating a user's eye when the head-mounted display apparatus in operation is worn by the user;

at least one camera; and

a processor configured to:

control the at least one camera to capture an image of the user's eye and reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources from the user's eye;

identify at least one of the plurality of non-circular light sources from where at least one of the reflections originated, based upon shapes, rotational orientations and relative positions of the reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources, to differentiate said reflections from visual artifacts; and

detect a gaze direction of the user based upon a relative position of a pupil of the user's eye with respect to the reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources;

wherein at least two of the plurality of non-circular light sources have a same non-circular shape and the at least two of the plurality of non-circular light sources have different rotational orientations.

2. The gaze-tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of non-circular light sources are arranged in a substantially circular manner, wherein the reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources appear in the captured image as a plurality of non-circular glints arranged in a substantially circular manner.

3. The gaze-tracking system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is configured to identify a polygon defined by the plurality of non-circular glints, and to determine the relative position of the user's pupil with respect to the polygon.

4. The gaze-tracking system of claim 2 , wherein the processor is configured to use the plurality of non-circular glints as references for a next image, to differentiate reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources from visual artifacts in the next image.

5. The gaze-tracking system of claim 1 , wherein a given non-circular light source has a shape that is symmetrical about only one axis and such shape only repeats when the light source is rotated through 360 degrees.

6. The gaze-tracking system of claim 5 , wherein the shape of the given non-circular light source is selected from the group consisting of A, V and Y.

7. The gaze-tracking system of claim 1 , wherein at least two of the plurality of non-circular light sources have different non-circular shapes.

8. The gaze-tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to divide the plurality of non-circular light sources into a plurality of groups, and to control the plurality of groups to emit light in a predefined manner, based upon a time-division multiplexing rule.

9. The gaze-tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the emitted light has an infrared wavelength or a near-infrared wavelength.

10. The gaze-tracking system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of non-circular light sources are arranged around a periphery of an exit optical element of the head-mounted display apparatus.

11. The gaze-tracking system of claim 10 , further comprising at least one optical element that is substantially transparent for visible light, but is substantially reflective for infrared or near-infrared light, wherein the at least one optical element is positioned on an optical path between at least one image renderer of the head-mounted display apparatus and the exit optical element, and wherein the reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources, when incident upon the at least one optical element, are reflected towards the at least one camera.

12. A method of tracking a user's gaze, via a gaze-tracking system of a head-mounted display apparatus, the gaze-tracking system comprising a plurality of non-circular light sources and at least one camera, the method comprising:

emitting, via the plurality of non-circular light sources, light for illuminating an eye of the user when the head-mounted display apparatus in operation is worn by the user;

capturing, via the at least one camera, an image of the user's eye and reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources from the user's eye;

identifying at least one of the plurality of non-circular light sources from where at least one of the reflections originated, based upon shapes, rotational orientations and relative positions of the reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources, to differentiate said reflections from visual artifacts; and

detecting a gaze direction of the user based upon a relative position of a pupil of the user's eye with respect to the reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources,

wherein at least two of the plurality of non-circular light sources have a same non-circular shape and the at least two of the plurality of non-circular light sources have different rotational orientations.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of non-circular light sources are arranged in a substantially circular manner, wherein the reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources appear in the captured image as a plurality of non-circular glints arranged in a substantially circular manner.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

identifying a polygon defined by the plurality of non-circular glints; and

determining the relative position of the user's pupil with respect to the polygon.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising using the plurality of non-circular glints as references for a next image, to differentiate reflections of the plurality of non-circular light sources from visual artifacts in the next image.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein a given non-circular light source has a shape that is symmetrical about only one axis and such shape only repeats when the light source is rotated through 360 degrees.

17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

dividing the plurality of non-circular light sources into a plurality of groups; and

controlling the plurality of groups to emit light in a predefined manner, based upon a time-division multiplexing rule.