Meta patents headset that tracks eyes and room with one light
Meta describes a head-mounted device that uses a single light source to measure both the position of the user's eyes and the distance to objects in the room. The system sends a light beam into the eye area and captures reflections with two separate sensors to calculate these distances.
In the filing’s own words
An eye and environment sensing system for a head-mounted device uses a shared light source to track eye orientation and determine ranges to objects in an environment. The head-mounted device includes a frame, a light source configured to emit a light beam toward an eyebox region, a first photodetector configured to receive reflections from the eyebox region, and a second photodetector configured to receive reflections from the environment after reflection from the eyebox region. Processing logic coupled to the photodetectors receives light beam detection data and determines a first range to a portion of an eye in the eyebox region and a second range to one or more objects in the environment based on the detection data.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A head-mounted device comprising: a frame; a light source coupled to the frame and configured to emit a light beam to illuminate a portion of an eyebox region of the head-mounted device; a first photodetector coupled to the frame and oriented towards the eyebox region to receive reflections of the light beam from the eyebox region; a second photodetector coupled to the frame and oriented towards a scene side of the head-mounted device to receive reflections of the light beam, after reflection of the light beam from the eyebox region, from an environment of the head-mounted device; and processing logic coupled to the first and second photodetectors to receive light beam detection data, wherein the processing logic is configured to determine a first range to a portion of an eye in the eyebox region and a second range to one or more objects in the environment based on the light beam detection data.
Facts
- Company
- Meta (Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC)
- Official title
- COMBINED EYE AND ENVIRONMENT SENSING FOR A HEAD-MOUNTED DEVICE
- Publication number
- US20260299306A1
- Application number
- 19698196
- Filed
- Jun 4, 2026
- Published
- Oct 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G02B 27/0172 Physics & computingG02B 2027/0138 Physics & computingG02B 2027/0178 Physics & computingG02B 2027/0187 Physics & computingMore from Meta in AR, VR & displays
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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.