Patent ID: 6393136
Filing Date: 2002-05-21
Classification: G06F,G06T

Abstract:
A method for determining whether a subject is looking at a target area, the subject having a face including an eye with a pupil, the method comprising the operations of:if distance between the subject and the target area is less than a predetermined range, performing operations comprising: operating a light source to create a glint upon the subject's eye; using a light sensor to detect the glint and measure glint position; receiving a machine-readable representation of the pupil; analyzing relative position of the glint with respect to the pupil to determine whether the relative position satisfies predetermined criteria; and only if the relative position satisfies the predetermined criteria, providing an eye contact output declaring that the subject is looking at the target area; otherwise, if distance between the subject and the target area is less than the predetermined range, performing operations comprising: receiving a machine-readable input representing three-dimensional positions of multiple points on the face; using the points to compute a face plane describing an average orientation of the face; determining alignment between the face plane and the target area; and if the alignment between the face plane and the target area meets predetermined criteria, providing an eye contact output declaring that the subject is looking at the target area.