Catadioptric AR Glasses with Diffusion Layer and Curved Mirror
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current virtual and augmented reality head-mounted displays face challenges in relaying off-axis optical paths to the eye without introducing distortions, limited Field-of-View, and complex light engines that do not support color information or accommodation cues, leading to restricted eye box and user fatigue.
Innovation Solution
A catadioptric glasses system that uses a light engine to project images onto a diffusion layer between a curved mirror and the user's retina, allowing light to pass through transparent regions in a time-multiplexed fashion, enabling different virtual images to be formed at various depths and accommodating color information, while the curved mirror allows partial transparency for augmented reality applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If beam-splitter or freeform optics are used to relay off-axis optical path, then visual information can be presented, but geometric distortions and chromatic aberrations are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system is divided into multiple discrete components: off-axis light engine, relay optics, beam combiner, and on-axis display. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing cumulative distortions while maintaining visual information delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
A beam combiner acts as an intermediary element that merges the off-axis light path with the on-axis optical path. This mediator enables information transfer between different optical axes without requiring direct coupling, thereby reducing geometric distortions and chromatic aberrations.
2Device complexity
If complex freeform optics are used to unify relay, magnification, and combining functions, then device integration is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a single complex freeform optic, the system segments the optical functions into separate components: relay optics for image transmission, beam combiner for path merging, and display elements for final presentation. This modular approach simplifies manufacturing while achieving the same functional integration.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple standard optical components perform specialized functions that collectively achieve what a single freeform optic would attempt to do. The relay optics handle image transmission, the beam combiner manages path merging, and the display handles presentation, allowing each component to be manufactured using standard processes.
3Loss of information
If off-axis light engine is used to support color information, then color reproduction is improved, but optical path relay complexity and eye box restrictions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The beam combiner serves as an intermediary that efficiently merges the off-axis color-carrying light path with the on-axis optical path. This mediator enables color information delivery without requiring complex relay optics, reducing overall optical path complexity while maintaining color reproduction 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
The system provides a more robust design that reduces distortions, increases Field-of-View, supports color information, and reduces user fatigue by allowing simultaneous focus on virtual and real-world objects, enhancing the overall display experience.
Implementation Method 1
a display including a diffusion layer positioned between a curved mirror and a user's retina. Light emitted from a surface of the diffusion layer is reflected off the curved mirror to the user's retina through the diffusion layer
Implementation Method 2
Light emitted from a surface of the diffusion layer is reflected off the curved mirror to the user's retina through the diffusion layer
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for operating a catadioptric glasses system is presented. The method includes the steps of generating an image via a light engine included in a glasses system and projecting the image onto a display that includes a diffusion layer positioned between a curved mirror and a user's retina. Light emitted from a surface of the diffusion layer is reflected off the curved mirror to the user's retina through the diffusion layer, and the diffusion layer is located between a focal point of the curved mirror and a surface of the curved mirror. The diffusion layer may be mechanically moved relative to the user's eye to enable light to pass through transparent regions in the diffusion layer in a time multiplexed fashion. The glasses system may also include a mirror stack to enable different virtual images to be formed at different depths.