Autostereoscopic Campfire Display With Passenger Eye Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle entertainment systems lack the ability to provide a centrally located, three-dimensional image viewable by multiple passengers without the need for constant adjustments due to varying passenger positions and heights.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a passenger monitoring system, compute engine, and beam steering device to project holographic images that adjust to individual passenger positions, enabling a floating 3D image by alternately encoding right-eye and left-eye images at high frequency and redirecting them to each passenger's eyes, with adjustable accommodation distance using waveguides and lenses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a screen or monitor is mounted within the vehicle for viewing by passengers, then passengers can view entertainment content, but the system cannot provide a centrally located three-dimensional image viewable by multiple passengers simultaneously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical screen displays with a holographic projection system using light field manipulation. The compute engine calculates holographic images and the beam steering device directs light beams to create three-dimensional floating images in space, eliminating the need for physical screens and mounts while enabling multi-passenger viewing from various positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from two-dimensional flat screens to three-dimensional holographic images by encoding depth information and using beam steering to project light fields that form floating images in three-dimensional space. This allows passengers to view content from multiple angles and positions simultaneously.
2Adaptability or versatility
If inverse head-up-display architectures with beams splitters are used, then individual screens can be provided for each passenger, but the system requires constant re-adjustment to accommodate height and position variations of passengers
Solution Approach 1:
The beam steering device automatically tracks and follows passenger eye movements and head positions without requiring manual adjustment. The system self-adjusts by receiving input from eye-tracking sensors and compute engine calculations to redirect beams dynamically, eliminating the need for passengers or operators to manually reposition screens or splitters.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static fixed-position screens to dynamic beam steering that continuously adapts to passenger movements. The beam steering device can redirect light beams in real-time based on detected eye and head positions, providing constant accommodation without physical adjustment mechanisms.
3Reliability
If holographic images are projected alternately to right and left eyes at high frequency, then stable flicker-free three-dimensional perception is achieved, but the system requires precise synchronization between compute engine encoding and display projection
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic alternating projection of right-eye and left-eye images at frequencies above the human flicker fusion threshold (typically >50Hz). The compute engine encodes and the display projects images in alternating sequences, creating the perception of stable three-dimensional content without flicker through rapid temporal multiplexing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs eye-tracking sensors to detect which eye is currently viewing and provides feedback to the compute engine. The compute engine uses this feedback to synchronize beam steering and image encoding with the detected eye position and blink state, ensuring precise delivery of the correct image to each eye while maintaining flicker-free perception.
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
Enables multiple passengers to perceive a stable, flicker-free 3D image without the need for special headgear, providing a centrally floating image that adapts to individual passenger positions and heights.
Implementation Method 1
a beam steering device... adapted to receive... information related to a position of the head and eyes of each of the plurality of passengers... and the display is adapted to project the holographic image to the beam steering device and the beam steering device is adapted to re-direct the projected holographic image to the eyes of each of the plurality of passengers
Implementation Method 2
the beam steering device includes a waveguide having an exit surface with a fixed wavefront curvature adapted to adjust an accommodation distance of the holographic image
Implementation Method 3
the beam steering device further includes a first lens adapted to further adjust the accommodation distance of the right-eye image and a second lens adapted to further adjust the accommodation distance of the left-eye image
Implementation Method 4
the beam steering device includes a first splitting prism adapted to re-direct the right-eye image to the right eye of each of the plurality of passengers and a second splitting prism adapted to re-direct the left-eye image to the left eye of each of the plurality of passengers
Data Source
AI summary
A system for generating a floating image for a plurality of passengers within a vehicle includes a passenger monitoring system adapted to monitor the position of head and eyes of each passenger, a compute engine in communication with the passenger monitoring system and adapted to calculate a holographic image and encode the holographic image to a display of a picture generating unit hologram generator, and a beam steering device adapted to receive information related to a position of the head and eyes of each of the passengers from the passenger monitoring system, and the display is adapted to project the holographic image to the beam steering device and the beam steering device is adapted to re-direct the projected holographic image to the eyes of each of the passengers, based on the information received from the passenger monitoring system.