Head-Mounted Passthrough Displays with Rendered Content Headroom
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Solution Overview
Problem
Head-mounted devices struggle to balance the brightness of passthrough and rendered display content, leading to rendered content appearing washed out compared to the real-world content if not properly managed.
Innovation Solution
Control circuitry dynamically adjusts the maximum allowable brightness of passthrough display content based on user adaptation to the viewing environment, gradually reducing it to provide headroom for rendered content, optimizing the viewing experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the maximum brightness of the display is allocated entirely to passthrough content, then the brightness and realism of the real-world view is improved, but the rendered display content appears washed out and loses visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic brightness allocation where the system continuously monitors whether the user is viewing passthrough content or rendered content and adjusts the display brightness range accordingly. When passthrough content is detected, the full brightness range is allocated to it; when rendered content is detected, the brightness range is shifted to prioritize its visibility. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making the brightness allocation adaptive rather than static.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the display parameters (brightness range, luminance levels) based on the type of content being displayed. By detecting the content type and adjusting the brightness parameters dynamically, the system ensures that whichever content is currently being viewed receives optimal brightness allocation, preventing the washed-out appearance problem while maintaining realism when viewing the real world.
2Manufacturing precision
If the display uses the full brightness range for passthrough content, then the realism and quality of the real-world view is maintained, but headroom for rendered display content is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic headroom adjustment where the system monitors the type of content being displayed and adjusts the brightness headroom allocation in real-time. When rendered content is detected, the system creates headroom by shifting the brightness range, allowing rendered content to be displayed with sufficient contrast and visibility. When passthrough content is displayed, the full brightness range is utilized for optimal realism. This dynamic approach resolves the contradiction between maintaining passthrough quality and providing versatility for rendered content.
3Reliability
If rendered display content is prioritized in brightness, then the visibility and contrast of virtual content is improved, but the passthrough content appears dimmer and less realistic
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches brightness allocation modes based on content detection. When rendered content is detected, the system prioritizes its brightness and contrast by adjusting the display parameters. When passthrough content is detected, the system switches to prioritizing realism and brightness for the real-world view. This dynamic switching resolves the contradiction by ensuring that the brightness priority follows the user's current viewing focus rather than being fixed.
Data Source
AI summary
A head-mounted device may include a camera that captures a live video feed of an environment. A display in the head-mounted device may display passthrough display content that includes the live video feed. Control circuitry may dynamically adjust a maximum allowable brightness for the passthrough display content during operation of the head-mounted device. Upon an initial donning of the head-mounted device, the passthrough display content may be permitted to use most or all of the achievable brightness range of the display. After a given time period, the user may be adapted to the brightness range of the display and the maximum allowable brightness for the passthrough display content may be reduced to allow additional headroom for rendered display content. The control circuitry may continue to adjust tone mappings for passthrough display content and rendered display content based on whether the display content favors real-world content or virtual content.