Augmented Reality Eyepiece with Variable Focus Optical Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional augmented reality display systems often cause discomfort due to a mismatch between accommodative and vergence states, leading to an unnatural perception of depth, as they fail to provide corresponding changes in accommodative and vergence states, disrupting the accommodation-vergence reflex.
Innovation Solution
The use of a display system with a transparent emissive display and variable focus optical elements that modify the divergence and convergence of light to match accommodative and vergence cues, providing images with appropriate wavefront divergence for each depth plane, ensuring physiological correct accommodation-vergence matching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional augmented reality display systems present digital image information without adjusting focal vergence, then the system structure remains simple, but the user experiences discomfort due to mismatch between accommodative and vergence states
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies variable focus optical elements that can dynamically adjust their focal vergence to match the depth plane of displayed virtual objects. This dynamic adjustment allows the system to provide appropriate accommodative cues for different virtual object distances while maintaining a relatively simple overall system structure, thereby improving user comfort without excessive complexity increase
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the optical parameters (focal vergence) of the optical elements to match the depth information of virtual objects. By adjusting the focal vergence parameter dynamically according to the virtual object's depth plane, the system creates physiological correct accommodation-vergence matching, resolving the contradiction between simplicity and comfort
2Reliability
If a transparent emissive display with variable focus optical elements is used to match accommodative and vergence cues, then accommodation-vergence matching is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transparent emissive display serves multiple functions: it displays virtual image information while also working in conjunction with variable focus optical elements to provide accurate accommodative cues. This multi-functionality allows the system to achieve reliable accommodation-vergence matching without adding separate dedicated components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity
3Use of energy by moving object
If variable focus optical elements modify light divergence for each depth plane, then depth perception realism is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces optical elements that act as intermediaries between the transparent display and the user's eye. These elements (variable focus optical components and lens arrays) mediate the light paths to provide correct depth cues, improving depth perception quality while managing the precision requirements through their intermediary function in the optical path
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the comfort and realism of three-dimensional imagery by aligning accommodative and vergence states, allowing for a more natural and immersive augmented reality experience.
Implementation Method 1
an augmented reality display including an eyepiece having a transparent emissive display
Implementation Method 2
variable focus optical elements that modify the divergence and convergence of light to match accommodative and vergence cues
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
An augmented reality head mounted display system an eyepiece having a transparent emissive display. The eyepiece and transparent emissive display are positioned in an optical path of a user's eye in order to transmit light into the user's eye to form images. Due to the transparent nature of the display, the user can see an outside environment through the transparent emissive display. The transmissive emissive display comprising a plurality of emitters configured to emit light into the eye of the user. A first variable focus optical element is positioned between the transparent emissive display and the user's eye and is configured to modify emitted light to provide the appropriate amount of divergence for image information to be interpreted by the user as being on a particular depth plane. A second variable focus optical element is positioned between the transparent emissive display and the environment and is configured to offset effects of the first variable focus optical element on the view of the environment.