Contact lens for automatically aiming in the direction of an eye of a person, associated detection system
A contact lens, intended to be worn on the eye of a person, for automatically aiming in the direction of the eye. The contact lens includes:—a membrane suitable for covering the pupil and the iris of the eye;—at least two light sources encapsulated in the membrane, each suitable for emitting a light beam whose divergence is controlled in relation to the axis of the lens;—at least one interface for collecting and supplying electrical energy to the light sources, from outside the lens;—at least one electronic circuit suitable for activating the sources from the interface.
1. An automatic system for detecting the direction of the gaze of a person comprising:
at least one contact lens, intended to be worn on the eye of a person, for automatically pointing the direction of the eye, comprising:
a membrane able to cover the pupil and the iris of the eye at least partially;
at least two light sources encapsulated in the membrane, each able to emit a light beam or cone the divergence of which is controlled with respect to the axis of the lens;
at least one interface for collecting and supplying electrical energy to the light sources, from outside the lens;
at least one electronic circuit able to activate the sources from the interface;
a support, intended to be positioned in a fixed manner with respect to the person's face;
at least one position-sensitive detector (PSD) or a camera, secured to the support, the one or more detectors or the camera being able to detect the position of the beams from the at least two light sources of the contact lens so as to extract therefrom the angle of deviation with respect to the normal of the gaze.
2. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the support is a frame, intended to be worn on the person's face.
3. The automatic system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the frame is a spectacle frame or an augmented reality headset or a head-up display (HUD) screen.
4. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising a single PSD detector, intended to be arranged facing the eye, the PSD detector being transparent in the visible and sensitive in the near-infrared (PIR), the light sources of the contact lens emitting in the near-infrared.
5. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising two PSD detectors, intended to be arranged at the periphery of the eye, substantially in a plane facing the eye, so as to cover the range of angular variation in the position of the eye, the PSD detectors being arranged so as not to obstruct the person's vision.
6. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , the contact lens, comprising a battery encapsulated in the membrane and connected to the interface, the battery being able to be charged from the interface and to supply electrical power to the light sources and/or to optoelectronic functions associated with the light sources, the electronic circuit being able to activate the sources from the battery.
7. The automatic system as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the battery is a deformable accumulator, encapsulated in the membrane.
8. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the membrane is able to cover the sclera of the eye.
9. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the light sources emit in the infrared or the visible.
10. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the light sources are light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs); or edge-emitting laser diodes.
11. The automatic system as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the LEDs or VCSELs each with an optic for shaping their beam.
12. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the interface comprises an antenna able to transfer energy by electromagnetic induction, and a rectifier connected to the antenna for transferring all or some of the energy received by the antenna to the sources.
13. The automatic system as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the rectifier is able to transfer all or some of the energy received by induction directly to the light sources.
14. The automatic system as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the antenna is able to transmit data wirelessly.
15. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of the two light sources is implemented as part of a communication system.
16. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the membrane consists of two films made of transparent polymer sealed together, one of the films bearing, before sealing, the light sources, at least part of the interface and the electronic circuit.
17. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , which is a hard or hybrid scleral lens.
18. The automatic system as claimed in claim 1 , comprising two contact lenses, one being dedicated to the right eye, the other to the left eye of the person.