Abstract
State-of-the-art optical see-through head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) applications lack mutual occlusion capability, which refers to the ability to render correct light blocking relationship when merging digital and physical objects, such that the virtual views appear to be ghost-like and lack realistic appearance. In this paper, using off-the-shelf optical components, we present the design and prototype of an AR display which is capable of rendering per-pixel mutual occlusion. Our prototype utilizes a miniature organic light emitting display coupled with a liquid crystal on silicon type spatial light modulator to achieve an occlusion capable AR display offering a 30° diagonal field of view and an angular resolution of 1.24 arcminutes, with an optical performance of > 0.4 contrast over the full field at the Nquist frequency of 24.2 cycles/degree. We experimentally demonstrate a monocular prototype achieving >100:1 dynamic range in well-lighted environments.
Highlights
Augmented Reality (AR) is viewed as a transformative technology in the digital age, enabling new ways of accessing and perceiving digital information essential to our daily life
State-of-the-art optical see-through head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) applications lack mutual occlusion capability, which refers to the ability to render correct light blocking relationship when merging digital and physical objects, such that the virtual views appear to be ghost-like and lack realistic appearance
In this paper, using offthe-shelf optical components, we present the design and prototype of an AR display which is capable of rendering per-pixel mutual occlusion
Summary
Augmented Reality (AR) is viewed as a transformative technology in the digital age, enabling new ways of accessing and perceiving digital information essential to our daily life. A see-through head-mounted display (HMD) is one of the key enabling technologies for merging digital information with a physical scene in an AR system [1]. While both video see-through and optical see-through displays have their unique advantages, optical see-through HMDs (OST-HMD) tend to be preferred when it comes to real scene resolution, viewpoint disparity, FOV and image latency [1]. The digitally rendered virtual objects viewed through OST-HMDs typically appear “ghost-like,” always floating “in front of” the real world.
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