JPH1184308A - Head-mounted device and video observation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable the feeling and the will of a user to be properly transmitter to an outsider and to reduce the sense of incongruity given to the outsider when a device is mounted by providing the device with a display means displaying eyes which can be observed from the outside on the outside and having such constitution that the eyes on the display means are changed. SOLUTION: When the head-mounted device 1 is mounted, the eyes 2 which can be observed from the outside are displayed on positions corresponding to the eyes of the user. Since the eyes 2 are changed, the movement of the line of sight, the opening and closing action of eyelids and the expression of the feeling shown in a figure (b) can be transmitted to the outsider. Thus, since the user's eyes themselves are projected on the display means, they can be more faithfully expressed according to the change of the user's own eyes and the feeling can be more delicately expressed. Besides, since pupil images can be electrically processed and transmitted, the degree of freedom for arranging parts is increased and the constitution of the device can be made compact as a whole.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a head mounted device which is mounted on a head such as a head mounted display (hereinafter referred to as an HMD) or goggles to cover the eyes of a wearer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a head-mounted device, such as an HMD, which covers a wearer's eyes, external information is taken in so that communication between the wearer and the outside world can be achieved, and displayed and displayed on a display device for the wearer. There has been proposed a configuration in which the state of the external world is transmitted to a wearer, and a configuration having a see-through configuration so that the wearer can directly observe the external world even when the wearer wears the device. In this configuration, the wearer's eyes cannot be observed from outside.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional head-mounted device, since the wearer's eyes are covered with the device, the wearer's feelings and intentions are not easily transmitted to outsiders. It cannot be said that sufficient communication has been achieved. In addition, the feeling of anxiety and discomfort for an external person is increased.

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a head-mounted device in which the feelings and intentions of the wearer are appropriately expressed to an external person when the device is mounted, and the discomfort given to the external person is reduced.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head-mounted device configured to cover an eye of a wearer, wherein an externally observable eye is displayed outside. Display means for changing the eyes on the display means.

[0006] When the head-mounted device having the above-described configuration is worn, eyes 2 that can be observed from the outside are displayed at positions corresponding to the eyes of the wearer as shown in FIG.
Since the eyes change, it is possible to express, for example, the movement of the eyes, the opening and closing of the eyelids, the expression of emotions, and the like as shown in FIG.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the head-mounted device according to the first aspect, further comprising a camera for photographing an eye of the wearer, and displaying an image of the eye photographed by the camera on the display means. It is configured to display.

In such a configuration, since the wearer's eyes themselves are projected on the display means, the change of the wearer's own eyes can be expressed more faithfully, and more detailed emotional expression can be achieved. In addition, since the pupil image can be processed and transmitted electrically, the degree of freedom in component arrangement is increased, and the entire structure can be made compact.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the head-mounted device according to the first aspect, further comprising an image generating means for changing an eye displayed on the display means in conjunction with an external environment. .

In such a configuration, since the displayed pupil image corresponds to a change in the external environment, the pupil image becomes a more natural pupil image, and the discomfort of the external observer can be further reduced. Specifically, the display pupil image moves following an external moving object, the degree of opening of the pupil and eyelid changes according to the external brightness, and the sound direction changes according to the external sound. It is desirable that the control be performed such that the pupil moves, blinks, or opens and closes the eyelid in response to an external pressure shock.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the head-mounted device according to the first aspect, there is provided an image generating means for changing an eye displayed on the display means based on information on a state of a wearer. And

In such a configuration, since the wearer's emotions and intentions can be more accurately expressed to the outside, good communication can be achieved. As the information on the state of the wearer, specifically, the wearer's own body temperature, blood pressure, blinking, sweating, gaze, muscle tension, head and body posture, and the like can be considered. It is desirable to have a configuration that expresses emotions of emotions.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the head-mounted device according to the first aspect, further comprising a video switching unit that switches an eye displayed on the display unit based on a wearer's operation.

In such a configuration, since the wearer can judge eagerness and pleasure and instruct the switching of the pupil display image, various functions of the wearer can be omitted and the emotion judgment function can be omitted, and the cost can be reduced. It is possible to express accurate emotions.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a head-mounted image observation apparatus for observing an image displayed on a display means as a virtual image, wherein the wearer's eyes can be observed from outside. .

In this configuration, since the observer's eyes can be directly observed from the outside without having a pupil imaging system or pupil display means, communication can be achieved without giving a feeling of strangeness to an outside person, and a small and light weight can be achieved. Configuration becomes possible.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to first to fifth embodiments. In the first and second embodiments, the present invention is embodied as a head-mounted image observation device.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view of an image observation apparatus of the present embodiment viewed from the side. The video observation device of the present embodiment is configured to be mounted on the head of the observer, similarly to the head mounted device 1 of FIG.
In FIG. 2, reference numeral 3 denotes an image taken by a camera (for example, an outside scene),
It is a display element that displays an image such as computer graphics (CG). Reference numeral 4 denotes an eyepiece lens for projecting an image displayed on the display element 3 onto a viewer's pupil as a virtual image.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a pupil imaging camera for imaging the pupil 5 of the observer. Reference numeral 7 denotes a half mirror, which is configured to transmit light from the display element 3 and supply the light to the pupil 5 of the observer, and to reflect light from the pupil 5 and supply the reflected light to the pupil imaging camera 6.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a pupil display element (display means) configured to receive a video signal of a pupil image of the observer captured by the pupil imaging camera 6 and display the pupil image.

The image observation apparatus according to the present embodiment has a pupil display element 8 on the front surface with the observer wearing the apparatus, and the pupil image of the observer is displayed as it is. In other words, even when the observer is wearing the device, an outside person can observe the image of the observer's eyes displayed at the same position as the observer's eyes, so that the observer does not feel uncomfortable, and Because it is possible to read wills and emotions, communication becomes easier. For example, when this video observation device is used for a video conference, the state of the observer can be understood in the same way as when nothing is worn. It is thought to be smoother.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 3 is a schematic structural view of an image observation apparatus of the present embodiment viewed from the side. The configuration of the video observation device of the present embodiment is a configuration in which the video observation device is mounted on the head of the observer like the head mounting device 1 of FIG. 3 in FIG. 3 is an image (for example, an outside scene) photographed by a camera or a computer graphic (C).
G) is a display element that displays an image such as G). Reference numeral 4 denotes an eyepiece lens for projecting an image displayed on the display element 3 onto a viewer's pupil as a virtual image.

Reference numeral 9 denotes intermittent pupil illumination for illuminating the pupil at fixed time intervals. Reference numeral 10 denotes a reflection / transmission mirror, and intermittent pupil illumination 9
Is illuminating the pupil 5 of the observer and becomes a transmission state, so that the pupil 5 of the observer can be observed from the outside. When the intermittent illumination 9 does not illuminate the pupil 5 of the observer, the reflection / transmission mirror 1
0 is a reflection state, and is configured to reflect light from the display element 3 and give it to the pupil 5 of the observer.

The image observation apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured so that the pupil 5 of the observer can be observed from outside even when the observer wears the apparatus.

<Third Embodiment> FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a schematic configuration of a head mounted device according to the present embodiment. The head mounted device of the present embodiment can be used as a head mounted device such as an HMD or goggles. The external view of the head-mounted device of the present embodiment is the same as the head-mounted device 1 shown in FIG. Reference numeral 11 in FIG. 4 denotes a pupil image display device (display means) arranged on the outer surface near the eye position of the wearer when the wearer wears the head-mounted device.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an external world information capturing device, which comprises a camera for capturing the external world and an object detecting device for detecting an object from the video captured by the camera using infrared rays or radio waves. The object detection device detects, for example, when the object 13 is captured in a video. Reference numeral 14 denotes a moving object detection processing device that performs processing such as detecting a moving object and calculating an object position based on a detection result sent from the object detection device.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a pupil image generating device 15 for generating a pupil image corresponding to the moving object based on data sent from the moving object detection processing device 14. In the pupil image display device 11, a pupil image is displayed based on data sent from the pupil image generation device 15. With such a configuration,
For example, assuming that the object 13 has moved to the position 13 ', the display on the pupil image display device 11 is such that the pupil also moves from left to right on the drawing. It should be noted that the external information acquisition device 12, the moving object detection processing device 14, and the pupil image generation device 15 together constitute an image generation means.

<Fourth Embodiment> FIG. 5A is a block diagram of a schematic configuration of a head mounted device according to the present embodiment. The head mounted device of the present embodiment can be used as a head mounted device such as an HMD or goggles. The external view of the head-mounted device of the present embodiment is the same as the head-mounted device 1 shown in FIG. Reference numeral 11 in FIG. 5 denotes a pupil image display device (display means) arranged outside the vicinity of the position of the eyes of the wearer when the wearer wears the head-mounted device.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a state detecting device for detecting information relating to the state of the wearer, for example, any one or a plurality of information such as the body temperature, blood pressure, blinking, sweating, and line of sight of the wearer. 17
Is an emotion determination device that determines the emotion of the wearer based on data sent from the wearer's state detection device 16.
For example, when the blood pressure rises rapidly according to the detection result of the state detection device 16, it is determined that the wearer has an emotion of anger. Then, the determination result is transmitted to the video switching device 18. The image switching device 18 switches images so that a pupil image based on the determination result is displayed.

For example, when it is determined that the user has an angry emotion as in the above example, switching is performed so that angry eyes are displayed. The pupil image generation device 19 displays a prepared image corresponding to the switching result of the image switching device 18. For example, when the user is switched to anger, a display as shown on the video display device 11 in FIG. In addition, when the mode is switched to laughter, sadness, or normal, the corresponding eye image (FIG. 5)
(Illustrated in (b)). The state detection device 16, the emotion determination processing device 17, the video switching device 1
8. The image generating device 19 is used as image generating means.

<Fifth Embodiment> The head mounted device of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the state detection device 16 and the emotion determination processing device 17 are removed from the head mounted device of the fourth embodiment. The switching of the video switching device 18 is configured to be manually performed by the wearer. If the wearer has an angry emotion, for example, the dial of the video switching device 18 is adjusted to the angry position. The pupil image generation device 19 displays an image corresponding to the result of the manual operation on the pupil image display device 11. The other configuration is the same as that of the fourth embodiment, and the description is omitted.

The image switching device 18 and the pupil image generating means 19 together constitute an image switching means.

[0032]

According to the head-mounted device of the present invention, even when the observer wears the device, the eyes that can be observed from the outside are displayed at the positions corresponding to the eyes of the observer. Feel uncomfortable when viewed. In addition, the displayed eyes are images of the eyes of the observer themselves or correspond to the emotions of the observer, so that the observer's will and emotions are transmitted to outsiders, and sufficient while the device is worn. Communication can be achieved, and anxiety given to an outside person can be eliminated by not knowing the intention and emotion of the wearer.

Furthermore, when the displayed eyes correspond to the external environment, the displayed eyes become more natural, so that it is possible to reduce the discomfort given to an external person.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a head mounted device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a video observation device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image observation device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a head mounted device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a head-mounted device according to a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 head-mounted device 3 display element 4 eyepiece 6 pupil imaging camera 7 half mirror 8 pupil display element (display means) 9 intermittent pupil illumination 10 reflection / transmission mirror 11 pupil image display apparatus (display means) 12 external world information capturing apparatus 14 movement Object detection device 15 Eye image generation device 16 State detection device 17 Emotion determination processing device 18 Image switching device 19 Eye image generation device

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A head-mounted device configured to cover eyes of a wearer, wherein the head has display means for displaying externally observable eyes, and the eyes on the display means are changed. Department mounting device. 2. The head-mounted device according to claim 1, further comprising a camera for photographing an eye of a wearer, wherein an image of the eye photographed by the camera is displayed on the display unit. 3. The head observation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image generation unit that changes an eye displayed on the display unit in synchronization with an external environment. 4. The head-mounted device according to claim 1, further comprising an image generating unit that changes an eye displayed on the display unit based on information on a state of a wearer. 5. The head-mounted device according to claim 1, further comprising a video switching unit that switches an eye displayed on the display unit based on an operation of a wearer. 6. A head-mounted image observation apparatus for observing an image displayed on a display means as a virtual image, wherein the eyes of the wearer can be observed from the outside.