Head-Mountable Display Shutter Control for Safety Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Head-mountable display systems that provide total immersion can lead to health and safety issues as users are unaware of outside events, as they are shielded from interaction with the real world, potentially missing important sounds or visual cues such as alarms or approaching objects.
Innovation Solution
A head-mountable display system with a frame, shutters to obscure the real environment, a display element for virtual images, an object detector, and a controller that allows the user to view the surrounding environment when detecting objects within a certain range, using techniques like camera-based or emitter-receiver object detection to alert the user to external events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the HMD provides total immersion by shielding the user from the real world, then the audio/video experience is improved, but the user becomes unaware of outside events creating health and safety problems
Solution Approach 1:
The HMD system dynamically adjusts its immersion level by controlling the shutters in response to detected objects. When no objects are detected, shutters remain closed for total immersion. When objects are detected within the detection range, the controller opens the shutters to allow the user to see the real environment, thereby dynamically adapting between immersion quality and safety based on environmental conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where the object detector continuously monitors the environment and provides input to the controller. The controller processes this feedback and adjusts the shutter state accordingly, creating a closed-loop control system that automatically balances immersion experience with safety awareness based on real-time environmental feedback
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the shutters are opened to allow viewing of the real environment, then the user's awareness of outside events is improved, but the total immersion experience is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter state is dynamically controlled based on real-time object detection results. The system transitions between closed (immersion mode) and open (safety mode) states automatically, ensuring that immersion is maintained when safe, and safety is prioritized when objects are detected
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the optical parameter of the shutters (open/closed state) based on the detection parameter (presence of objects). This parameter change allows the system to switch between providing total immersion and providing environmental awareness as needed
Data Source
AI summary
A head-mountable display system comprises a head mountable display having a frame to be mounted onto an observer's head, the frame defining one or two eye display positions which, in use, are positioned for viewing by the observer. The frame comprises one or more shutters for obscuring the observer's view of the surrounding real environment and a display element mounted with respect to each of the eye display positions. The display element provides a virtual image of a video display of a video signal from a video signal source to the observer. An object detector detects the presence of an object within a detection range of the observer's head. And a controller controls operation of the head mountable display so as to allow the observer to view at least a portion of the surrounding real environment in response to detection of the presence of an object within the detection range.