Portable Mid-air Imaging Optical System on Glossy Surface

Abstract

We propose a portable optical system, PortOn, that displays an upright mid-air image when simply placed on a flat and glossy surface such as a desk or floor. Mid-air imaging is promising for glasses-free mixed reality because the user can see images without wearing a special device. However, there is a limitation in terms of where the conventional mid-air imaging optical systems can be installed. Therefore, we propose a mid-air optical system that solves this limitation. Our contribution is a practical optical design that enables the system to be easily installed. The advantage of our method is that it erases unnecessary light that is produced when mid-air images are displayed and shows beautiful mid-air images clearly when view-angle control and polarization are added to the system. We evaluate whether undesired light is erased by measuring luminance. As a result, the luminance of the undesired light is much lower than that of mid-air images.