AR Eyewear Fresnel Reflector with Adjustable Optical Elements
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current augmented reality eyewear struggles to effectively block environmental light in bright settings, making virtual objects appear transparent and 'ghost-like', and is often bulky, failing to project high-resolution, opaque virtual objects in a person's field of view.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates an array of individually adjustable transmissive-reflective optical elements that can change configurations via electrical current or electromagnetic fields, allowing for selective light transmission and reflection, mimicking a section of a Fresnel Reflector, to enhance the opacity and resolution of virtual objects in AR eyewear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional AR eyewear uses fixed transmissive optics, then the device structure is simple, but environmental light cannot be blocked making virtual objects appear transparent and ghost-like
Solution Approach 1:
The optical element is divided into multiple individually controllable segments or zones, each capable of independent transmissive-reflective switching. This segmentation allows selective blocking of environmental light in specific regions while maintaining transparency in other areas, thereby improving virtual object opacity without requiring complete occlusion of the optical path.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical elements transition from fixed static configurations to dynamically adjustable states through electrical control. Each optical element can switch between transmissive and reflective modes on demand, enabling adaptive control of light paths to enhance virtual object visibility and opacity in response to environmental conditions.
2Reliability
If AR eyewear uses larger optical components to block environmental light, then virtual object opacity improves, but the device becomes bulky
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly blocking light across the entire optical path, the system applies reflective properties only to specific local regions where virtual objects are displayed. Each optical element can independently switch between transmissive and reflective states, providing localized light blocking exactly where needed to maintain virtual object opacity while minimizing overall device volume.
3Manufacturing precision
If AR eyewear uses fixed-focus optics, then the optical system is simple, but high-resolution virtual objects cannot be projected
Solution Approach 1:
The optical elements incorporate variable focus capability through electrical control, allowing the focal point to be dynamically adjusted. This enables the system to project high-resolution virtual objects at different depths by changing the optical power of individual elements, transforming fixed-focus simple optics into adaptive variable-focus systems.
4Adaptability or versatility
If AR eyewear uses non-adjustable optical elements, then the device is compact, but cannot selectively block environmental light in bright environments
Solution Approach 1:
The optical elements are equipped with electrical control mechanisms that enable dynamic switching between transmissive and reflective states. This adaptability allows the system to respond to varying environmental lighting conditions by selectively blocking or transmitting light, providing versatility in bright environments while maintaining a relatively compact structure through integrated control.
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 solution enables the creation of more solid, brighter, and higher-resolution virtual objects in AR eyewear, effectively blocking environmental light where needed and improving the overall AR experience, particularly in bright environments, while maintaining a compact form factor.
Implementation Method 1
each optical element in the array can be individually and selectively changed from the first configuration to the second configuration, or vice versa, by application of electrical current, or by exposure to an electromagnetic field
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is augmented reality (AR) eyewear with at least one array of individually-adjustable optical elements whose levels of light transmission and/or reflectivity are selectively and individually adjusted by application of electrical current, or by exposure to an electromagnetic field, via transparent (or translucent) electroconductive pathways. Optical elements in this array collectively comprise a section of a Fresnel Reflector which has been selected (e.g. extracted or “cut out”) from the right side or the left side of a Fresnel Reflector.