A 3D integral imaging optical see-through head-mounted display

Abstract

An optical see-through head-mounted display (OST-HMD), which enables optical superposition of digital information onto the direct view of the physical world and maintains see-through vision to the real world, is a vital component in an augmented reality (AR) system. A key limitation of the state-of-the-art OST-HMD technology is the well-known accommodation-convergence mismatch problem caused by the fact that the image source in most of the existing AR displays is a 2D flat surface located at a fixed distance from the eye. In this paper, we present an innovative approach to OST-HMD designs by combining the recent advancement of freeform optical technology and microscopic integral imaging (micro-InI) method. A micro-InI unit creates a 3D image source for HMD viewing optics, instead of a typical 2D display surface, by reconstructing a miniature 3D scene from a large number of perspective images of the scene. By taking advantage of the emerging freeform optical technology, our approach will result in compact, lightweight, goggle-style AR display that is potentially less vulnerable to the accommodation-convergence discrepancy problem and visual fatigue. A proof-of-concept prototype system is demonstrated, which offers a goggle-like compact form factor, non-obstructive see-through field of view, and true 3D virtual display.

Three-Dimensional Imaging With Multiple Degrees of Freedom Using Data Fusion

“…The use of integral imaging techniques may be useful to recognize and classify objects under adverse conditions (in noisy or photon starved conditions), and under occlusions [51], [52], and recent results show the potential of this technique in new application and research avenues [53]- [56].…”

High-performance integral-imaging-based light field augmented reality display using freeform optics

“…These displays thus force an unnatural decoupling of the accommodation and convergence cues and induce a fundamental problem sometimes referred to as vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC), which might lead to various visual artifacts such as distorted depth perception and visual fatigue [1,2]. In recent years, several display methods that are potentially capable of resolving the VAC problem have been demonstrated, including holographic displays [3], volumetric displays [4,5], multi-focal plane displays [6][7][8][9], and light field displays [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Among these methods, integral-imagingbased (InI-based) light field display allows the reconstruction of the full parallax of a 3D scene seen from a predesigned viewing window and have been conventionally demonstrated for its use in direct-view 3D display systems [10,11].…”

“…Some of the pioneering works have already demonstrated the promising potential of such architecture. Hua and Javidi presented a proof-of-concept monocular prototype system by integrating an off-the-shelf microlens array (MLA) for the creation of a micro-InI unit with a freeform eyepiece [14], while Song et al presented a similar setup in which the MLA of the micro-InI unit was replaced with a pinhole array [15]. Both prototypes showed their abilities to render reconstructed 3D targets at their corresponding depths.…”

A Three-dimensional Transparent Display with Enhanced Transmittance and Resolution Using an Active Parallax Barrier with See-through Areas on an LCD Panel

“…1(b). For that purpose, several three-dimensional (3D) technologies such as super multi-view (SMV), holographic optical elements (HOE), and integral imaging can be good solutions to realize a 3D transparent display [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. However, those methods still have a technological gap to be bridged before being implemented in a commercial product.…”