Sony patents eye-tracking system using reflective lenses
Sony has been granted a patent for a system that tracks where a user is looking by detecting light reflected from their eyes. The invention uses a small reflective element, potentially mounted on a lens, to help a camera determine the direction of the gaze. The system automatically chooses the best tracking method based on whether these reflective elements are present.
In the filing’s own words
A system for tracking a gaze direction of a user, the system comprising: a lens mountable on the surface of a user's eye, wherein the lens comprises a reflective element configured to reflect at least a portion of light incident on the lens; a photosensor configured to detect the reflected light; a processor configured to receive data from the photosensor and generate tracking information based on the detected reflected light so as to determine gaze directions of the user's eye.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer implemented method comprising: receiving, from a photosensor, data encoding a representation of light that was reflected from an eye of a user; determining whether the representation of the light that was reflected from the eye of the user indicates a presence of one or more reflective elements; and selecting, from among multiple gaze tracking algorithms, a particular gaze tracking algorithm to apply to subsequently received data from the photosensor, based at least on determining whether the representation of the light that was reflected from the eye of the user indicates a presence of one or more reflecting elements.
Facts
- Company
- Sony (Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.)
- Official title
- Tracking a gaze direction of a user
- Patent number
- US12743154B2
- Application number
- 19027019
- Filed
- Jan 17, 2025
- Granted
- Sep 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 6
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G06F 3/013 Physics & computingG06F 3/012 Physics & computingMore from Sony in AR, VR & displays
- Sony patents device that warms or cools you when you touch virtual objects Sep 15, 2026
- Sony patents VR box that mimics a transparent fish tank Oct 13, 2026
- Sony patents cloud gaming that puts characters in your room Oct 15, 2026
- Sony patents LED screens that show unique views to each person in a room Oct 15, 2026
- Sony patents cloud gaming that adjusts to your brain state Sep 8, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.