Conformal Head-Up Display Using Pre-Distorted Windscreen Projection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional head-up displays (HUDs) in avionics rely on sophisticated optics, which are costly and bulky, necessitating a solution that does not depend on complex optical systems to meet performance requirements.
Innovation Solution
A conformal-capable head-up display system that uses a projector to generate and project pre-distorted right-eye and left-eye images onto a vehicle windscreen, which reflects these images to the viewer's eyeboxes, compensating for windscreen distortions to maintain image clarity and alignment without the need for sophisticated optics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sophisticated optics are used to meet performance requirements, then image alignment and clarity are improved, but device complexity, size, weight, and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies pre-distortion to images before projection onto the windscreen. This preliminary action compensates for the distorting effect of the curved windscreen, allowing the use of simple projection optics instead of complex corrective optical systems while maintaining image alignment and clarity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical/optical correction systems with a computational approach. Image processing algorithms pre-distort the images, substituting sophisticated optical correction mechanisms with software-based preprocessing, thereby reducing device complexity
2Manufacturing precision
If sophisticated optics are used to meet performance requirements, then image alignment and clarity are improved, but size and weight of the HUD unit increase
Solution Approach 1:
By pre-distorting images computationally before projection, the system eliminates the need for heavy optical correction elements such as complex lenses and mirrors, thereby reducing the overall weight of the HUD unit while maintaining image quality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes heavy mechanical optical correction systems with lightweight computational image processing, replacing physical optical components with software algorithms that run on standard processors
3Manufacturing precision
If sophisticated optics are used to meet performance requirements, then image alignment and clarity are improved, but cost of the HUD system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs image pre-distortion as a preliminary computational step, replacing expensive precision optical components with software processing that can be implemented on standard hardware, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining image alignment and clarity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces costly sophisticated optical systems with computationally-based image processing, substituting expensive precision-manufactured optical components with software algorithms that reduce overall system cost
4Adaptability or versatility
If the windscreen is used as a combiner, then conformal display capability is improved, but image distortion increases without pre-distortion
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies pre-distortion as a preliminary computational step that exactly compensates for the windscreen's curvilinear distortion characteristics, enabling conformal display capability while maintaining precise image alignment through coordinate transformation algorithms
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 achieves minimal vergence errors and high conformality using simple HUD optics, reducing the need for complex collimation and enabling compact, low-cost designs while maintaining precise image alignment and clarity.
Implementation Method 1
The windscreen 104 is positioned to receive the right-eye image 106-R and the left-eye image 106-L, and reflects the right-eye image 106-R to a right eyebox 108-R and the left-eye image 106-L to a left eyebox 108-L
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
A system and method of displaying a conformal-capable head-up display image is provided. A pre-distorted right-eye image and a pre-distorted left-eye image are separately generated and projected toward a windscreen. The pre-distorted right-eye image is reflected off of the windscreen to supply a reflected right eye image to a right eyebox, and the pre-distorted left-eye image is reflected off of the windscreen to supply a reflected left eye image to a left eyebox. The reflected right-eye image and the reflected left-eye image are each non-distorted images.