Unveiling the Invisible: How See-Through Sensors Hide Eye-Tracking Technology

2023-09-18 10:00:37

See-Through Sensors Hide Eye-Tracking in Plain Sight

The applications for eye-tracking technology have expanded in recent years, from virtual reality and augmented reality devices to safer driving systems, hands-free computer control, and disease detection.

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Gaze tracking currently relies on bulky, opaque silicon-based image sensors positioned at an angle away from the user's direct line of sight to avoid distractions. However, a team of researchers from The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology and Barcelona-based startup Qurv Technologies have developed flexible and nearly transparent image sensors that could be discreetly integrated into various applications.

Revolutionizing Eye-Tracking Technology

"You could have phones or laptops where the entire screen is a sensor to detect hand movements. Mirrors or shop windows could have smart sensors and cameras integrated into the glass to sense human gestures."
—Frank Koppens, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology

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The sensors, which incorporate graphene and quantum dots, can be directly integrated onto eyeglasses or curved windshields, placed right in front of the user's eyes. This innovation not only reduces the bulkiness of eye-tracking hardware but also enhances the accuracy of gaze detection while reducing computational complexity. Frank Koppens, co-leader of the research, states in a publication in ACS Photonics that integrating photodetectors into glass with conventional materials is simply not feasible.

Qurv Technologies

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This breakthrough paves the way for numerous potential applications. Imagine phones or laptops where the entire screen acts as a sensor for detecting hand movements. Similarly, smart sensors and cameras integrated into mirrors or shop windows could detect human gestures, opening up possibilities for a new era of interactive technology.

The Technology Behind It

Conventionally, eye-tracking involves emitting infrared light onto the user's eyes and analyzing the reflected signals to measure eye position, movement, and pupil dilation. In current systems, light-emitting diodes and infrared cameras are positioned away from the user's line of sight, such as on top of VR/AR glasses or the edges of car windshields.

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To create the new, semi-transparent image sensors, Koppens and his team combined the properties of graphene and quantum dots. Graphene, an atom-thick conductor, efficiently converts photons into electrons and positively charged holes, but it absorbs minimal light. On the other hand, quantum dots, semiconductor nanocrystals, are excellent light absorbers.

By depositing graphene on a clear quartz substrate and coating it with a thin layer of quantum dots, the researchers achieved semi-transparency while maintaining efficient light absorption. The graphene-quantum dot photodetectors are approximately 90% transparent and convert absorbed light into electrical signals with around 60% efficiency, which is sufficient for eye-tracking purposes.

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Although Koppens and his colleagues developed rudimentary photodetectors a decade ago, both efficiency and scalability have significantly improved since then. The team now produces photodetectors using graphene grown through common vapor deposition techniques on 300-nm wafers.

The Road Ahead

While the researchers have successfully demonstrated the capabilities of the graphene-quantum dot photodetectors through an 8x8 pixel array, there is still room for improvement. The team at Qurv plans to enhance the resolution and speed of the image sensors and develop reliable methods for large-scale production.

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