Can Liquid Lenses Increase Depth of Field in Head Mounted Video See-Through Devices?

Marina Carbone; Davide Domeneghetti; Fabrizio Cutolo; Renzo D'Amato; Emanuele Cigna; Paolo Domenico Parchi; Marco Gesi; Luca Morelli; Mauro Ferrari; Vincenzo Ferrari

doi:10.3390/jimaging7080138

Can Liquid Lenses Increase Depth of Field in Head Mounted Video See-Through Devices?

J Imaging. 2021 Aug 5;7(8):138. doi: 10.3390/jimaging7080138.

Authors

Marina Carbone^{1

2}, Davide Domeneghetti¹, Fabrizio Cutolo^{1

2}, Renzo D'Amato^{1

2}, Emanuele Cigna³, Paolo Domenico Parchi³, Marco Gesi³, Luca Morelli³, Mauro Ferrari², Vincenzo Ferrari^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Information Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy.
² EndoCAS Center, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy.
³ Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy.

Abstract

Wearable Video See-Through (VST) devices for Augmented Reality (AR) and for obtaining a Magnified View are taking hold in the medical and surgical fields. However, these devices are not yet usable in daily clinical practice, due to focusing problems and a limited depth of field. This study investigates the use of liquid-lens optics to create an autofocus system for wearable VST visors. The autofocus system is based on a Time of Flight (TOF) distance sensor and an active autofocus control system. The integrated autofocus system in the wearable VST viewers showed good potential in terms of providing rapid focus at various distances and a magnified view.

Keywords: Video See-Through; autofocus; head mounted display; liquid lenses; magnification.

Abstract

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