Light-field Image Generation for Teleoperation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Teleoperated systems using head-mounted displays (HMDs) cause inconsistency between ocular convergence and focus adjustment, leading to eyestrain and visually induced fatigue, which hampers workers' ability to perform delicate operations due to the inability to focus on the depth position recognized by ocular convergence.
Innovation Solution
A light-field image generation system that includes a shape information acquisition server and an image generation server, which reconstructs a three-dimensional shape of an object as a virtual shape in a virtual space and generates light-field images from arbitrary viewing points, allowing consistent ocular convergence and focus adjustment by displaying light-field information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a general HMD is used for teleoperation, then the worker can observe the object and conduct work from a remote site, but inconsistency between ocular convergence and focus adjustment occurs, causing eyestrain and visually induced fatigue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the display system by using light-field technology to render images with multiple focal depths. This allows the display to present different focal planes simultaneously, enabling the worker's eyes to focus at the perceived depth of the virtual object while maintaining ocular convergence consistency, thereby eliminating eyestrain and visual fatigue during prolonged teleoperation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces light-field information as an intermediary between the worker and the remote object. By encoding depth and focal information into the light-field data and rendering it through a specialized display system, the worker can perceive three-dimensional depth cues without the vergence-accommodation conflict that plagues conventional HMDs, thus preventing visual fatigue while maintaining teleoperation capability
2Object-affected harmful factors
If light-field information is transmitted to enable consistent ocular convergence and focus adjustment, then visual comfort is improved, but communication load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential depth and focal information needed to create light-field images from the complete scene data. By selectively transmitting only the necessary light-field parameters rather than full multi-view or volumetric data, the system achieves visual comfort benefits while significantly reducing communication bandwidth requirements and energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified copies of the three-dimensional scene in light-field format that capture the essential depth structure without transmitting complete optical field data. These compressed light-field representations maintain sufficient visual fidelity for depth perception and focus adjustment while requiring far less communication bandwidth than full light-field or volumetric transmissions
Data Source
AI summary
A light-field image generation system including a shape information acquisition server that acquires shape information indicating a three-dimensional shape of an object, and an image generation server that is provided with a shape reconstruction unit that reconstructs the three-dimensional shape of the object as a virtual three-dimensional shape in a virtual space based on the shape information and a light-field image generation unit that generates a light-field image of the virtual three-dimensional shape at a predetermined viewing point in the virtual space.