HCC: CGV: Small: Eyeglass-Style Multi-Layer Optical See-Through Displays for Augmented Reality

二十多年来，研究人员已经展示了增强现实（AR）将计算机图形转化为人类视觉日常扩展的潜力，可以增强医学，制造，维护，智能办公室和导航等多种应用。 然而，今天公众或行业几乎没有使用增强现实。 研究人员认为，这种差异主要是由于缺乏合适的高性能和广泛适用的增强现实显示器，可以在其上部署应用程序。 目前可用的最有能力的AR显示器，光学透视头戴式显示器（HMD），通常缺乏阻止其广泛用途：宽视场、非遮挡、对相互遮挡的支持以及对大多数深度线索的保留的四个关键品质。 据调查人员所知，目前还没有任何现有的或拟议的显示器具备所有甚至大部分这些功能。 该项目采用了一种完全不同的光学透视设计方法，可以在接近普通眼镜的紧凑外形中提供所有四种缺失的品质。该方法依赖于多层显示架构，该架构遵循新兴的计算显示领域的原理-简单的光学设备，其功能和复杂性通常在于软件。 该项目将现有的多层优化技术从桌面3D显示器应用到光学透视HMD，同时探索新的方法，如感知误差指标，使用多层遮挡掩模和视野区域优先级。这些知识将用于构建原型光学透视显示器，同时应对校准，跟踪，计算复杂性和延迟等挑战。这种方法的性能将在模拟中进行稳健的测试和评估，使用校准的摄像机和人类观众。 目标设备将改变增强现实，使社会能够利用在AR中研究的各种应用。 所提出的设计是一种完全不同的光学透视显示器方法，它使用空间光调制器和软件优化来取代传统的反射、折射和衍射光学器件。将研究在不使用透镜的情况下，在放置得比眼睛所能容纳的更近的显示器上产生聚焦图像的能力。 还将研究用于图像形成和遮挡掩蔽的显示组件的共享。 研究人员还将探索使用多层优化来创建多焦点图像，优先考虑观看者视野中的不同区域，并促进眼球跟踪。更广泛的影响：研究和实践表明，增强现实有望改善医疗、无障碍环境、工作效率和通信等多个领域。 然而，到目前为止，公众或行业很少使用增强现实。 该项目将带来一个高性能的增强现实显示器，这是迫切需要的，使该领域的实用，并允许公众获得多年的有远见的增强现实研究的好处。 该项目开发的科学和技术将向更广泛的研究人员开放增强现实的使用，类似于最近商品深度传感器的发展为科学探究提供了新的机会。

For over two decades, researchers have shown the potential of augmented reality (AR) to transform computer graphics into an everyday extension of human vision that can enhance such diverse applications as medicine, manufacturing, maintenance, smart offices, and navigation. However, there is virtually no use of augmented reality by the public or industry today. The investigators believe that this discrepancy is due largely to the lack of suitable high performance and widely applicable augmented reality displays on which applications can be deployed. The most capable AR displays available today, optical see-through head-mounted displays (HMDs), generally lack four key qualities that prevent their widespread use: wide field-of-view, non-encumbering, support for mutual occlusion, and preservation of most depth cues. The investigators know of no existing or proposed displays that feature all, or even most, of these capabilities. This project takes a radically different approach to optical see-through design that offers the potential to deliver all four missing qualities in a compact form factor that approaches ordinary glasses. The approach relies on a multi-layer display architecture that follows the principles of the emerging field of computational displays - simple optical devices whose functionality and complexity generally lies in software. This project applies existing multi-layer optimization techniques from desktop 3D displays to optical see-through HMDs, while exploring new approaches such as perceptual error metrics, the use multiple layers for occlusion masks, and field of view zone prioritization. This knowledge will be used to build prototype optical see-through displays while handing such challenges as calibration, tracking, computational complexity, and latency. The performance of this approach will be robustly tested and evaluated in simulation, with calibrated cameras, and with human viewers. The target device will transform augmented reality, allowing society to take advantage of the diverse set of applications that have been studied in AR. The proposed design is a radically different approach to optical see-through displays that uses spatial light modulators and software optimization to replace conventional reflective, refractive, and diffractive optics. The ability to produce a focused image on a display placed closer than the eye can accommodate without the use of lenses will be investigated. Sharing of display components for both image formation and occlusion masking will also be researched. The investigators will also explore the use of multi-layer optimization to create multi-focal imagery, prioritize different areas over the viewer's field of view, and facilitate eye tracking.Broader Impacts: Research and practice have shown the promise of augmented reality to improve such diverse areas as medicine, accessibility, worker efficiency and communications. However, to date there is very little use of augmented reality by the public or industry. This project will lead to a high performance augmented reality display that is badly needed to make the field practical and allow the public to reap the benefits of years of visionary augmented reality research. The science and technology developed in this project will open the use of augmented reality to a wider class of researchers, similar to how the recent development of the commodity depth sensor has permitted new opportunities for scientific inquiry.