Auto-tunable Lenses for 3D Accommodation-Vergence Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The accommodation-vergence conflict in 3D image viewing causes physiological discomforts such as nausea and headaches due to the conflicting control of eye muscles for accommodation and vergence processes, differing from natural processes used in real-world object viewing.
Innovation Solution
Implementing single depth tracked accommodation-vergence solutions using auto-tunable lenses that adjust focal lengths based on viewer vergence angles to project stereoscopic images to a virtual object plane, aligning accommodation and vergence processes for comfortable 3D image rendering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If stereoscopic images are displayed at a fixed distance on near-eye displays, then the images can be rendered clearly on the display, but the accommodation and vergence processes conflict causing physiological discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic focal length adjustment in the optical system to match the vergence angle of the viewer's eyes. The focal length is no longer fixed but changes in real-time based on eye tracking data, allowing the accommodation process to align with the vergence process and eliminate physiological discomfort while maintaining image clarity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the optical parameter (focal length) of the display system based on the viewer's vergence angle. By adjusting the focal length parameter dynamically, the system reconciles the conflict between fixed-distance rendering and natural accommodation-vergence coupling, solving both image clarity and comfort requirements.
2Measurement precision
If the focal length is fixed for clear vision of the display, then the display can be viewed clearly, but the eyes must converge to a different distance creating muscle conflict
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs eye tracking to monitor the viewer's vergence angle in real-time and uses this feedback to adjust the focal length of the optical system. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures that the accommodation distance always matches the vergence distance, eliminating muscle conflict while preserving visual acuity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically adjusts its own focal length based on the viewer's natural eye movements without requiring manual intervention. The eye tracking and focal length adjustment processes work together seamlessly, allowing the system to self-regulate and maintain comfortable viewing conditions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the eyes converge to perceive objects at different depths, then 3D perception is achieved, but the accommodation process conflicts with vergence causing discomfort
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the focal length dynamic rather than fixed, allowing it to change according to the vergence angle. This dynamic adjustment enables the accommodation process to follow the vergence process across different depth planes, maintaining comfortable viewing while preserving full 3D depth perception capability.
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 effectively reduces physiological discomfort by aligning accommodation and vergence processes, allowing for clear and comfortable 3D image perception by projecting images to a single depth, thereby solving the accommodation-vergence conflict.
Implementation Method 1
one or more auto-tunable lenses are used to project the second stereoscopic image to the virtual object plane at the virtual object depth; one or more focal lengths of the one or more auto-tunable lenses are determined based at least in part on the virtual object depth
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A
AI summary
While a viewer is viewing a first stereoscopic image comprising a first left image and a first right image, a left vergence angle of a left eye of a viewer and a right vergence angle of a right eye of the viewer are determined. A virtual object depth is determined based at least in part on (i) the left vergence angle of the left eye of the viewer and (ii) the right vergence angle of the right eye of the viewer. A second stereoscopic image comprising a second left image and a second right image for the viewer is rendered on one or more image displays. The second stereoscopic image is subsequent to the first stereoscopic image. The second stereoscopic image is projected from the one or more image displays to a virtual object plane at the virtual object depth.