AR Display Buffer Switching to Prevent Frame Drop Flickering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Augmented reality displays that alternate between color and alpha frames often experience frame drops, leading to objectionable artifacts such as random bright and dark flickering due to the display of incorrect frame types, causing user frustration.
Innovation Solution
A display processor with two sets of video buffers is used to control the display system, ensuring that a pair of color and alpha frame buffers are always current, preventing the display of incorrect frame types by not switching buffers if a frame drop occurs and the next frame is not ready, thus maintaining the correct frame type display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the display alternates between color frames and alpha frames to achieve augmented reality effect, then the AR display functionality is improved, but frame drops occur causing random bright and dark flickering
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the video buffer into separate color frame buffers and alpha frame buffers, organizing them in pairs where each color frame buffer corresponds to an alpha frame buffer. This segmentation allows independent management and tracking of frame types, preventing the system from displaying incorrect frame types during alternation between color and alpha frames.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system monitors frame rendering status and buffer availability. When a frame drop is detected or the next frame is not ready, the system receives feedback to maintain the current buffer pair without switching, thereby preventing flickering artifacts while maintaining stable AR display functionality.
2Speed
If the system switches video buffers to display next frames, then the display refresh rate is improved, but incorrect frame types may be displayed when frame drops occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent prepares frame pairs in advance where each color frame buffer is paired with its corresponding alpha frame buffer. By pre-organizing frames in synchronized pairs and maintaining buffer state information, the system ensures that when switching occurs, the correct frame types are displayed without mixing color and alpha frames incorrectly, thus maintaining frame type accuracy while enabling smooth refresh.
3Reliability
If the display processor uses multiple buffer pairs, then the ability to prevent frame drops is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates the management of color and alpha frame buffers into distinct, independently trackable buffer pairs. By taking out the frame type identification and buffer selection logic as separate manageable components, the system can implement robust frame drop prevention through simple buffer pair switching logic, reducing the perceived complexity while maintaining high reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An augmented reality display alternates between displaying color frames and alpha frames to generate composite images for transparency control. A display processor includes two sets of buffers, each set including a color frame buffer and an alpha frame buffer. One set of buffers is used to provide data to the display while new video data is being written into the other set of buffers. The display processor switches which set of buffers is providing data and which set of buffers is having new video data written into them. By switching the alpha and color frame buffers in sets, a pair of color frame buffer and alpha frame buffer are always the current set of buffers to provide data as the output. If a frame drop occurs and the next color frame or alpha frame is not ready, the set of buffers is not switched to avoid disturbing flashing visual artifacts.