Introduction

In this patent we describe a radical rethinking of the wearable OST displays paradigm by generating, through integral imaging technique, the virtual content as a light field, in order to overcome the typical limitations of the traditional approach. This patent describes the hardware components and an innovative rendering strategy.

Technical features

The common Optical See-Through displays paradigm entails intrinsic perceptual conflicts owing to mismatched accommodation between real 3D world and virtual 2D images projected over semitransparent surfaces. Such paradigm is suitable for augmenting the reality with simple virtual elements (models, icons or text), but various shortcomings remain in case of complex virtual contents. The major shortcoming is due to the tedious and error prone calibration methods required to obtain geometrical consistency. The 3D virtual image often has poor quality or is not positioned consistently with respect to the relative position between the user and the surrounding environment. The present invention aims to provide a wearable viewer that allows free movement of the user and a better integration between real and virtual image.

 

Possible Applications

• Wearable augmented reality systems for surgery;
• Wearable augmented reality systems for manual operators in industry.

Advantages

• Parallax-free in Optical See-through displays;
• High Definition rendering for light field displays;
• AR wearable viewer that allows free movement of the user.