Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VIVA (Vision optics with Integrated VCSELs and Autofocal Lenses)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2024-06-01 al 2025-05-31
The VIVA project aims to develop a novel eye-tracking system for all-day wearable smartglasses. Current smartglasses face limitations in visual interaction, hindering their use in situations requiring full visual attention. Existing eye-tracking technologies, primarily camera-based, suffer from drawbacks like high power consumption, large size, and privacy concerns, making them unsuitable for all-day wearables. VIVA addresses these limitations by utilizing Laser Feedback Interferometry (LFI), a disruptive optical sensing principle. LFI offers significant advantages in power consumption, size, and robustness against varying light conditions, enabling integration into lightweight, aesthetically pleasing smartglasses.
The project's objectives include developing an eye-tracking system with a small form factor (<3x3x3mm³), low weight (<0.2g) low power consumption (<50mW), high sampling rate (>1kHz), and robustness against lighting conditions and slippage. This technology is expected to revolutionize the smartglasses market by enabling hands-free interaction and opening up new application fields in consumer, professional, and healthcare domains. The project addresses key focus areas of the KDT JU Annual Work Plan 2023 and KDT SRIA 2023, including components, modules and system integration; digital society; and health and well-being.
The expected impact of VIVA includes enabling the first all-day wearable smartglasses with eye-tracking, improving user experience and safety, extending independent living for the elderly, and enabling new health applications like automatic correction of presbyopia. By addressing the limitations of current technologies, VIVA is expected to significantly contribute to the growth of the smartglasses and eye-tracking markets, strengthening the EU's position in the competitive technology landscape. The project plans to maximize impact through dissemination in scientific forums, engagement with industrial stakeholders, public outreach, and targeted communication with policymakers. Exploitation plans focus on both individual partner strategies and joint exploitation of commercially viable results. Overall, VIVA aims to drive innovation and market acceptance of this transformative technology, paving the way for widespread adoption and positive societal impact.
The project's objectives include developing an eye-tracking system with a small form factor (<3x3x3mm³), low weight (<0.2g) low power consumption (<50mW), high sampling rate (>1kHz), and robustness against lighting conditions and slippage. This technology is expected to revolutionize the smartglasses market by enabling hands-free interaction and opening up new application fields in consumer, professional, and healthcare domains. The project addresses key focus areas of the KDT JU Annual Work Plan 2023 and KDT SRIA 2023, including components, modules and system integration; digital society; and health and well-being.
The expected impact of VIVA includes enabling the first all-day wearable smartglasses with eye-tracking, improving user experience and safety, extending independent living for the elderly, and enabling new health applications like automatic correction of presbyopia. By addressing the limitations of current technologies, VIVA is expected to significantly contribute to the growth of the smartglasses and eye-tracking markets, strengthening the EU's position in the competitive technology landscape. The project plans to maximize impact through dissemination in scientific forums, engagement with industrial stakeholders, public outreach, and targeted communication with policymakers. Exploitation plans focus on both individual partner strategies and joint exploitation of commercially viable results. Overall, VIVA aims to drive innovation and market acceptance of this transformative technology, paving the way for widespread adoption and positive societal impact.
The first reporting period of the VIVA project established a foundation for a novel eye-tracking system combining Laser Feedback Interferometry (LFI) with meta-optics (MOE). Key technical achievements include:
- Demonstrating compatibility between LFI and MOE, though initial designs showed high back-reflections requiring optimization
- Creating initial VIVA One sensor packages (0.12g per sensor) through manual assembly, providing insights for future improvements
- Developing analog electronics with "Cube" development boards and firmware for sensor microcontroller functions
- Initiating design of a dedicated analog frontend ASIC integrating laser driver, amplifier, and safety circuitry
- Fabricating initial MOE focusing lenses with >90% efficiency and designing more complex components for VIVA Two
- Creating a simplified eye model and gaze estimation algorithm
- Developing tools for optimizing sensor placement and simulating system performance
- Completing eye safety assessment and developing a safety concept based on duty cycle supervision
These accomplishments provide a strong foundation for the next phase, which will focus on refining the sensor package, ASIC integration, and algorithm validation with real sensor data.
- Demonstrating compatibility between LFI and MOE, though initial designs showed high back-reflections requiring optimization
- Creating initial VIVA One sensor packages (0.12g per sensor) through manual assembly, providing insights for future improvements
- Developing analog electronics with "Cube" development boards and firmware for sensor microcontroller functions
- Initiating design of a dedicated analog frontend ASIC integrating laser driver, amplifier, and safety circuitry
- Fabricating initial MOE focusing lenses with >90% efficiency and designing more complex components for VIVA Two
- Creating a simplified eye model and gaze estimation algorithm
- Developing tools for optimizing sensor placement and simulating system performance
- Completing eye safety assessment and developing a safety concept based on duty cycle supervision
These accomplishments provide a strong foundation for the next phase, which will focus on refining the sensor package, ASIC integration, and algorithm validation with real sensor data.
The VIVA project showcased several results beyond the state of the art in eye-tracking technology:
1) Miniaturized and lightweight LFI-based eye tracking: Combining LFI with MOEs enables a significant reduction in size and weight compared to traditional video-based eye trackers. This miniaturization is crucial for comfortable integration into wearable devices like smart glasses, opening new possibilities for all-day wear and broader adoption. The achieved weight of 0.12g for the VIVA One sensor, even before final miniaturization, already represents a step towards this goal.
2) Ambient light robustness: LFI's coherent sensing principle offers inherent robustness against varying lighting conditions, exceeding the capabilities of current video-based systems. Laboratory experiments have already confirmed this robustness, paving the way for reliable eye tracking in diverse environments.
3) High sampling rate: The VIVA system is designed for sampling rates above 1kHz, exceeding those of standard video-based systems. This high temporal resolution will allow for the capture of fine eye movements like microsaccades, essential for applications such as cognitive load estimation and medical diagnostics.
4) Cost-effective solution: By eliminating the need for complex illumination and image processing hardware, VIVA targets a significantly lower cost point than existing eye-tracking solutions. This cost reduction is facilitated by the use of uniform sensors across all use cases, scalable manufacturing processes, and the potential for wafer-level integration of components.
5) Simplified system integration: The VIVA sensor is designed for easy integration with a standard communication bus and reflow-solderable package.
1) Miniaturized and lightweight LFI-based eye tracking: Combining LFI with MOEs enables a significant reduction in size and weight compared to traditional video-based eye trackers. This miniaturization is crucial for comfortable integration into wearable devices like smart glasses, opening new possibilities for all-day wear and broader adoption. The achieved weight of 0.12g for the VIVA One sensor, even before final miniaturization, already represents a step towards this goal.
2) Ambient light robustness: LFI's coherent sensing principle offers inherent robustness against varying lighting conditions, exceeding the capabilities of current video-based systems. Laboratory experiments have already confirmed this robustness, paving the way for reliable eye tracking in diverse environments.
3) High sampling rate: The VIVA system is designed for sampling rates above 1kHz, exceeding those of standard video-based systems. This high temporal resolution will allow for the capture of fine eye movements like microsaccades, essential for applications such as cognitive load estimation and medical diagnostics.
4) Cost-effective solution: By eliminating the need for complex illumination and image processing hardware, VIVA targets a significantly lower cost point than existing eye-tracking solutions. This cost reduction is facilitated by the use of uniform sensors across all use cases, scalable manufacturing processes, and the potential for wafer-level integration of components.
5) Simplified system integration: The VIVA sensor is designed for easy integration with a standard communication bus and reflow-solderable package.