Pass-Through HMD Zoom With Multi-Region Tone Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pass-through technologies for head-mounted displays (HMDs) are limited in their ability to provide users with detailed views of distant objects, and conventional tone mapping techniques degrade image contrast in zoomed and un-zoomed regions, undermining user experience.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system with image sensors and displays that use reprojection operations with extended focal lengths for zoomed regions, combined with multi-region tone mapping techniques to preserve contrast in different image regions, allowing users to see distant details while maintaining situational awareness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If reprojection operations with extended focal lengths are used for zoomed regions, then users can perceive distant objects in detail, but image contrast degrades in zoomed and un-zoomed regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different tone mapping operators to different regions of the pass-through view. Specifically, a first tone mapping operator is applied to a first region (zoomed region) and a second tone mapping operator is applied to a second region (un-zoomed region). This local differentiation allows each region to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall image quality and contrast across the entire display.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of the tone mapping operators based on the region being processed. By adjusting the parameters of the first and second tone mapping operators differently, the system can preserve contrast in both zoomed and un-zoomed regions while still providing detailed views of distant objects in the zoomed region.
2Device complexity
If conventional tone mapping techniques are applied to zoomed regions, then processing is simplified, but image contrast is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of applying a single conventional tone mapping technique to the entire image, the patent applies different tone mapping operators to different regions. This local quality approach maintains simplicity in the overall processing pipeline while improving contrast specifically in regions where it matters most.
3Measurement precision
If pass-through views are provided with extended focal lengths, then distant object detail is improved, but situational awareness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the pass-through view into multiple regions (first region and second region) with different characteristics. The first region provides zoomed views of distant objects for detailed inspection, while the second region maintains the broader field of view for situational awareness. This segmentation allows users to simultaneously access both detailed and contextual information.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the display are given different quality characteristics appropriate to their function. The zoomed region receives enhanced processing with its own tone mapping operator to maximize detail visibility, while the un-zoomed region maintains broader visibility for context, allowing users to maintain situational awareness while accessing distant details.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for providing zoomed representations of scene content is configurable to: (i) capture one or more images using one or more image sensors; (ii) generate display output for presentation on one or more displays, wherein the display output comprises at least a first region and a second region, wherein the first region depicts first scene content represented in the one or more images with a first zoom level, and wherein the second region depicts second scene content represented in the one or more images with a second zoom level, wherein the second zoom level is different from the first zoom level; and (iii) present the display output using the one or more displays, wherein, upon capturing the one or more images, generating the display output and presenting the display output occurs in real time or near real time.