Holographic Display with Liquid Crystal Phase Modulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current VR and AR technologies cause eye strain and discomfort due to fixed depth perception, which existing solutions like eye tracking and variable focal length optical systems cannot fully address, as they either rely on inaccurate eye tracking or limited depth range with compromised display quality.
Innovation Solution
A holographic display system using a coherent light source, a liquid crystal layer, and a partially-transmissive-partially-reflective layer, where the liquid crystal layer modulates the phase of light to create a continuous range of depths, allowing for true and continuous depth presentation in 3D images, and a transmissive spatial light modulator to adjust amplitude, enabling a more comfortable and immersive experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If stereoscopic images are used to create 3D illusion, then depth perception is provided, but eye strain and discomfort occur due to fixed accommodation depth
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the focal depth adjustable and variable rather than fixed. The system dynamically changes the depth of stereoscopic images to match the viewer's eye vergence, allowing the accommodation depth to vary continuously. This resolves the contradiction by enabling both depth perception and comfort through dynamic adaptation to viewer position and gaze direction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of focal depth from a fixed value to a variable parameter that can be adjusted based on eye tracking data. By modifying the depth parameter of displayed images in real-time, the system maintains the 3D illusion while preventing eye strain, thus resolving the contradiction between depth perception quality and viewer comfort.
2Adaptability or versatility
If eye tracking system with variable focal length optical system is used, then depth of displayed images can be changed, but system complexity increases and single depth presentation limits 3D scene representation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the depth representation into multiple discrete depth planes or layers rather than attempting to render continuous 3D space. This segmentation allows the system to present multiple depths simultaneously without requiring complex variable focal length optics, reducing system complexity while maintaining adaptability for different viewing conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates multiple copies of the image at different depth planes rather than using a single variable focal length system. Each depth plane is a separate copy rendered at a specific depth, allowing simultaneous presentation of multiple depths without the mechanical complexity of continuously variable optics.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple discrete image layers are used to display 3D scene at different depths, then depth range is increased, but display quality is affected by layer density
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the number, position, and density of image layers based on the content being displayed and the viewer's position. Rather than using a fixed number of layers, the system adapts the layer configuration in real-time to maintain optimal display quality across different depths and viewing conditions, resolving the contradiction between multi-depth capability and quality.
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 immersive and comfortable 3D experience by allowing continuous depth variation, reducing eye strain and motion sickness, and enabling the display of holographic images with improved quality and range of depths without interfering with the real world.
Implementation Method 1
the liquid crystal layer receives light from the coherent light source and is controlled by the control signal to modulate a phase of the light from the coherent light source
Implementation Method 2
the partially-transmissive-partially-reflective layer receives light from the liquid crystal layer and reflects the light back through the liquid crystal layer to the viewer
Data Source
AI summary
A display system for presenting a holographic image to a viewer may comprise a coherent light source, a display element, and a computing device operatively connected to the coherent light source and the display element, the coherent light source emitting a light that enters the display element from the same side of the viewer, and the display element comprising a liquid crystal layer and a partially-transmissive-partially-reflective layer, wherein the computing device is configured to provide a control signal to the display element to present the holographic image, wherein the liquid crystal layer receives light from the light source and is controlled by the control signal to modulate a phase of the light from the light source, and wherein the partially-transmissive-partially-reflective layer receives light from the liquid crystal layer and reflects the light back through the liquid crystal layer to the viewer.