Apple patents eye-tracking method to detect focus via pupil changes
Apple describes a system that displays content with regions of different brightness and asks users to focus on a specific area. It then measures pupil size changes to determine if the user is paying attention to that specific part of the screen.
In the filing’s own words
Various implementations disclosed herein include devices, systems, and methods that determine an attention-induced physiological response during presentation of content. For example, an example process may include displaying content that includes an interaction element with a plurality of regions having different illumination characteristics. The process may further include providing instructions to focus on a particular region that is associated with a particular illumination characteristic. The process may further include obtaining a first set of physiological data that is associated with pupillary data. The process may further include determining, based on the first set of physiological data, an attention-induced physiological response during presentation of content corresponding to an interaction with the interaction element. A process may be configured to detect user interactions of a particular type based on detecting occurrences of attention-induced physiological responses by the user that are similar to the attention-induced physiological response.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method comprising: at a device comprising a processor: displaying, via a user interface, content that comprises an interaction element, wherein the interaction element comprises a plurality of regions, each region having different illumination characteristics; providing instructions to focus on a particular region of the plurality of regions, the particular region being associated with a particular illumination characteristic; obtaining a first set of physiological data for a first period of time, the physiological data associated with pupillary data; and determining, based on the first set of physiological data, an attention-induced physiological response during presentation of the content for the first period of time corresponding to an interaction with the interaction element, wherein a process is configured to detect user interactions of a particular type based on detecting occurrences of attention-induced physiological responses by the user that are similar to the attention-induced physiological response.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- ATTENTION-INDUCED PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE PREDICTION
- Publication number
- US20260325027A1
- Application number
- 19560443
- Filed
- Mar 9, 2026
- Published
- Oct 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
A61B 5/165 Human necessitiesA61B 5/163 Human necessitiesA61B 5/486 Human necessitiesA61B 5/7435 Human necessitiesMore from Apple in Health & body
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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.