An Extended Depth-at-Field Volumetric Near-Eye Augmented Reality Display

IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph. 2018 Nov;24(11):2857-2866. doi: 10.1109/TVCG.2018.2868570. Epub 2018 Sep 6.

Abstract

We introduce an optical design and a rendering pipeline for a full-color volumetric near-eye display which simultaneously presents imagery with near-accurate per-pixel focus across an extended volume ranging from 15cm (6.7 diopters) to 4M (0.25 diopters), allowing the viewer to accommodate freely across this entire depth range. This is achieved using a focus-tunable lens that continuously sweeps a sequence of 280 synchronized binary images from a high-speed, Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) projector and a high-speed, high dynamic range (HDR) light source that illuminates the DMD images with a distinct color and brightness at each binary frame. Our rendering pipeline converts 3-D scene information into a 2-D surface of color voxels, which are decomposed into 280 binary images in a voxel-oriented manner, such that 280 distinct depth positions for full-color voxels can be displayed.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Computer Graphics*
  • Equipment Design
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional / methods*
  • Photography
  • Video Recording
  • Virtual Reality*