IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,504,809
Granted Patent B2
US 12,504,809 · App. 17/187,717 · Granted Dec 23, 2025

Gaze-based control

Inventors: Samuel L. Iglesias (Palo Alto, CA); Mark A. Ebbole (Austin, TX); Andrew P. Richardson (San Francisco, CA); Tyler R. Calderone (Cupertino, CA); Michael E. Buerli (San Francisco, CA); Devin W. Chalmers (Oakland, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
G06F3/013G06F21/36G06V40/19
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,504,809
App. No.
17/187,717
Granted
Dec 23, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Aspects of the subject technology relate to gaze-based control of an electronic device. The gaze-based control can include enabling an option to provide user authorization when it is determined that the user has viewed and/or read text associated with a request for the user authorization. The gaze-based control can also include modifying a user interface or a user interface element based on user views and/or reads. The gaze-based control can be based on determining whether a user has viewed and/or read an electronic document and/or a physical document.

Claims (74)

1 . A method, comprising:

displaying, on a display of an electronic device, a request for user authorization from a user, wherein the displayed request includes text associated with the user authorization and the request for user authorization includes a request for user authorization for the electronic device to perform an action, the action comprising at least one of: a request to delete data from the electronic device, a request for user authorization to allow access to data stored by the electronic device, or a request for user authorization to allow access to a component of the electronic device;

identifying, while the request is displayed, at least one gaze location of at least one eye of the user;

determining, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the text in the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user, wherein the determination is at least in part based on determining whether the at least one gaze location corresponds to reading eye movement;

in response to determining that the text in the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user, providing, for display, a selectable option to provide the user authorization, otherwise withholding providing, for display, the selectable option; and

in response to selection of the selectable option, performing the action.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user comprises determining whether the at least one gaze location is within a boundary of the displayed request for at least a predetermined period of time.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the displayed request includes text associated with the authorization, and wherein determining, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user comprises determining whether the at least one gaze location indicates that that user has read the text.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein determining whether the at least one gaze location indicates that that user has read the text comprises determining that the at least one gaze location includes a plurality of time-separated gaze locations corresponding to reading eye movements.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the reading eye movements comprise at least one saccade and at least one fixation.

6 . The method of claim 4 , further comprising highlighting portions of the text as the plurality of time-separated gaze locations corresponding to the reading eye movements move across the portions of the text.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the selectable option to provide the user authorization comprises adding the selectable option to the displayed request after the determining.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein providing the selectable option to provide the user authorization comprises:

providing, prior to the determining, a deactivated option to provide the user authorization; and

activating the selectable option after the determining.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the request for user authorization includes a selectable option to decline the authorization.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the request for user authorization is a request for user authorization to accept terms and conditions in a document displayed by the electronic device.

11 . An electronic device, comprising:

a display;

an eye tracker configured to provide eye tracking data for at least one eye of a user; and

processing circuitry configured to:

provide, for display by the display, a request for user authorization from the user, wherein the request for user authorization includes a request for user authorization for the electronic device to perform an action and the displayed request includes text that describes the action, the action comprising at least one of: a request to delete data from the electronic device, a request for user authorization to allow access to data stored by the electronic device, or a request for user authorization to allow access to a component of the electronic device;

identify, while the request is displayed, at least one gaze location based on the eye tracking data from the eye tracker;

determine, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the text in the displayed request for authorization that describes the action has been viewed by the user, wherein the determination is at least in part based on determining whether the at least one gaze location corresponds to reading eye movement;

in response to a determination that the text in the displayed request for authorization that describes the action has been viewed by the user, provide, for display, a selectable option to provide the user authorization for the electronic device to perform the action described by the text, otherwise withhold providing, for display, the selectable option to provide the user authorization for the electronic device to perform the action; and

in response to selection of the selectable option, perform the action described by the text in the displayed request that was determined to have been viewed by the user.

12 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein to determine, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user comprises to determine whether the at least one gaze location is within a boundary of the displayed request for at least a predetermined period of time.

13 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the displayed request includes text associated with the authorization, and wherein to determine, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user comprises to determine whether the at least one gaze location indicates that that user has read the text.

14 . The electronic device of claim 13 , wherein to determine whether the at least one gaze location indicates that that user has read the text comprises to determine that the at least one gaze location includes a plurality of time-separated gaze locations corresponding to reading eye movements.

15 . The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the reading eye movements comprise at least one saccade and at least one fixation.

16 . The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to highlight portions of the text as the plurality of time-separated gaze locations corresponding to the reading eye movements move across the portions of the text.

17 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein to provide the selectable option to provide the user authorization comprises adding the selectable option to the displayed request after the determining.

18 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein to provide the selectable option to provide the user authorization comprises to:

provide, prior to the determining, a deactivated option to provide the user authorization; and

activate the selectable option after the determining.

19 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the request for user authorization includes a selectable option to decline the authorization.

20 . A computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

displaying, by an electronic device, a request for user authorization from a user, wherein the displayed request includes text associated with the user authorization and the request for user authorization includes a request for user authorization for the electronic device to perform an action, the action comprising at least one of: a request to delete data from the electronic device, a request for user authorization to allow access to data stored by the electronic device, or a request for user authorization to allow access to a component of the electronic device;

identifying, while the request is displayed, at least one gaze location of at least one eye of the user;

determining, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the text in the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user, wherein the determination is at least in part based on determining whether the at least one gaze location corresponds to reading eye movement;

in response to determining that the text in the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user, providing, for display, a selectable option to provide the user authorization, otherwise withholding providing, for display, the selectable option; and

in response to selection of the selectable option, performing the action.

21 . A system comprising:

a processor;

a display;

one or more sensors for detecting eye movement;

a computer-readable storage medium with instructions thereon, which cause the system to:

display, on the display, a request for user authorization from a user, wherein the displayed request includes text associated with the user authorization and the request for user authorization includes a request for user authorization to perform an action, the action comprising at least one of: a request to delete data from the system, a request for user authorization to allow access to data stored by the system, or a request for user authorization to allow access to a component of the system;

identify, while the request is displayed by the one or more sensors, at least one gaze location of at least one eye of the user;

determine, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the text in the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user, wherein the determination is at least in part based on determining whether the at least one gaze location corresponds to reading eye movement;

in response to a determination that the text in the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user, provide, for display, a selectable option to provide the user authorization, otherwise withhold providing, for display, the selectable option; and

in response to selection of the selectable option, perform the action.

22 . A device comprising:

a display circuit configured to display a request for user authorization from a user, wherein the displayed request includes text associated with the user authorization and the request for user authorization includes a request for user authorization for the device to perform an action, the action comprising at least one of: a request to delete data from the device, a request for user authorization to allow access to data stored by the device, or a request for user authorization to allow access to a component of the device;

a gaze location identifying circuit configured to identify, while the request is displayed, at least one gaze location of at least one eye of the user;

a view determining circuit configured to determine, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the text in the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user, wherein the determination is at least in part based on determining whether the at least one gaze location corresponds to reading eye movement; and

an option providing circuit configured to in response to a determination that the text in the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user, provide, for display, a selectable option to provide the user authorization, otherwise withhold providing, for display, the selectable option; and

in response to selection of the selectable option, perform the action.

23 . The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein determining whether the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user includes determining that the at least one gaze location includes a plurality of time-separated gaze locations corresponding to reading eye movements, wherein the reading eye movements comprise at least one saccade and at least one fixation, wherein the operations are further comprise highlighting portions of the text as the plurality of time-separated gaze locations corresponding to the reading eye movements move across the portions of the text.

24 . The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein providing the selectable option to provide the user authorization comprises:

adding the selectable option to the displayed request; or

activating a deactivated option already displayed prior to the determining.

25 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user comprises:

determining that the user is having difficulty reading the text associated with the request; and

in response to determining that the user is having difficulty reading the text, providing at least one of a visual enhancement or an audio enhancement to aid the user in reading the text.

26 . The electronic device of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

in response to a determination that the user is having difficulty reading the text associated with the request, provide a visual enhancement to aid the user in reading the text.

27 . The computer-readable medium of claim 20 , wherein determining, based on the at least one gaze location, whether the displayed request for authorization has been viewed by the user comprises:

determining that the user is having difficulty reading the text associated with the request; and

in response to determining that the user is having difficulty reading the text, providing at least one of a visual enhancement or an audio enhancement to aid the user in reading the text.

28 . The system of claim 21 , wherein the instructions further cause the system to:

in response to a determination that the user is having difficulty reading the text associated with the request, provide a visual enhancement to aid the user in reading the text.

29 . The device of claim 22 , wherein the view determining circuit is further configured to:

in response to a determination that the user is having difficulty reading the text associated with the request, provide an audio enhancement to aid the user in reading the text.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 4, 2025
From: IGLESIAS, SAMUEL L.; EBBOLE, MARK A.; RICHARDSON, ANDREW P.; CALDERONE, TYLER R.; BUERLI, MICHAEL E.; CHALMERS, DEVIN W.
To: APPLE INC.
Reel/Frame 072781/0554 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63011975 · Apr 17, 2020
Related Publication 20210325960A1 · Oct 21, 2021
References Cited (41)
US 9355612B1 · Shepard · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 9727135B2 · Sellen et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 9854967B2 · Kimura et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 9880384B2 · Wilson et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10013053B2 · Cederlund et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10063560B2 · Gordon et al. · 2018 [cited by applicant]
US 10324528B2 · Cederlund et al. · 2019 [cited by applicant]
US 10996748B2 · Agaoglu et al. · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20050166148A1 · Garding · 2005 [cited by examiner]
US 20060203093A1 · Trulaske · 2006 [cited by examiner]
US 20090273562A1 · Baliga · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 20100091200A1 · Vigouroux · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 20110016164A1 · Maeshima · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20120088543A1 · Lindner · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20120133595A1 · Lippolis · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20120290401A1 · Neven · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120323796A1 · Udani · 2012 [cited by examiner]
US 20130027302A1 · Iwaizumi · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 20140247232A1 · George-Svahn · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 20150178889A1 · Michel · 2015 [cited by applicant]
US 20170318019A1 · Gordon · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170346817A1 · Gordon et al. · 2017 [cited by applicant]
US 20180357728A1 · Huening · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20190137857A1 · Sugawara · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20200066004A1 · Vines et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20200148382A1 · Tanabe · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 20210081953A1 · Rakshit · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210118410A1 · Grieves · 2021 [cited by examiner]
CN 107087431A · 2017 [cited by applicant]
CN 108271021A · 2018 [cited by applicant]
KR 20120058947A · 2012 [cited by applicant]
KR 20150005131A · 2015 [cited by applicant]
Invitation to Pay from PCT/US2021/023446, dated Jun. 29, 2021, 16 pages. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report and Written Opinion from PCT/US2021/023446, dated Aug. 19, 2021, 20 pages. [cited by applicant]
Gunduz et al., “Analysis Eye Movements During Reading by Machine Learning Algorithms: A Review Paper,” IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI), Nov. 2018, pp. 1069-1075. [cited by applicant]
European Office Action from European Patent Application No. 21718724.4, dated Sep. 4, 2023, 10 pages. [cited by applicant]
European Office Action from European Patent Application No. 21718724.4, dated Feb. 28, 2024, 6 pages. [cited by applicant]
European Office Action from European Patent Application No. 21718724.4, dated Aug. 22, 2024, 11 pages. [cited by applicant]
Korean Office Action from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-7035651, dated Jan. 9, 2025, 38 pages with translation. [cited by applicant]
Korean Office Action from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-7035651, dated Jun. 16, 2025, 11 pages with translation. [cited by applicant]
Chinese Patent Application No. 202180028325.9; Office Action dated Jul. 26, 2025, 30 pages with English translation. [cited by applicant]