EAGER: Wide Field of View Augmented Reality Display with Dynamic Focus

增强现实（AR）具有整合计算机图形学和人类视觉系统的潜力。该技术已被证明可以改善通信、无障碍、工作效率和医疗等领域的任务表现。然而，增强现实技术的使用尚未普及，它仍然被视为一种新鲜事物。PI认为，这部分是由于缺乏足够的显示技术来支持引人注目的应用。目前最先进的头戴式设备显示的是与用户眼睛固定距离的平面图像，而光学透明设备的视野覆盖范围通常很有限。在这个探索性项目中，PI和他的团队将设计并实现一种新型透明增强现实显示系统的原型，该系统提供宽视野和可变焦深。如果成功，该设备将为新型增强现实显示器奠定基础，使虚拟物体在任何位置都能与现实世界的物体具有相同的焦点深度，从而更好地融合真实和虚拟，这将使社会能够利用增强现实可以提供的功能。这样一类新的显示将开辟令人兴奋的研究途径；例如，通过结合凝视跟踪，这种设备可以通过适应用户的凝视方向和注视距离而有更广泛的研究应用。PI的方法依赖于一个可变形的膜光学组合器，可以改变虚拟图像的光学深度。这种单一光学元件的解决方案还允许创建覆盖大部分视野的虚拟图像。通过采用单一反射光学元件作为变焦中继光学元件，本项目将简化用于近眼显示的透明变焦光学系统的设计。该技术还有望实现大孔径，为AR应用提供宽视场近眼显示解决方案。理论上，这种方法可以通过适当配置的显示器和光圈提供全视野解决方案。在完成工作原型后，许多以前很难进行的感知用户研究将变得容易获得，从而能够更深入地了解人类视觉系统。

Augmented reality (AR) has the potential to integrate computer graphics and the human visual system. The technology has been demonstrated to improve task performance in areas such as communication, accessibility, worker efficiency and medicine. However, use of AR technology is not yet widespread, and it is still viewed as a novelty. The PI believes this is partially due to the lack of adequate display technology to support compelling applications. The most advanced head-mounted devices available today present a flat image located at a fixed distance from the user's eyes, and optical see-through devices are often quite limited in coverage of the visual field. In this exploratory project, the PI and his team will design and implement a prototype of a novel see-through augmented reality display system that provides both wide field of view and variable focal depth. If successful, this device will lay the foundation for a new class of augmented reality display that enables virtual objects to have the same focal depth as real world objects at any location, creating better fusion of real and virtual, which will enable society to take advantage of the capabilities augmented reality can provide. Such a new class of display will open exciting research avenues; for example, by incorporating gaze tracking such devices could have even wider research applications by adapting to the user's gaze direction and fixation distance.The PI's approach relies upon a deformable membrane optical combiner which can be shaped to change the optical depth of the virtual image. This single optical element solution also allows for the creation of virtual imagery that covers a large portion of the visual field. By employing a single reflective optical element as the vari-focal relay optics, this project will simplify the design of see-through vari-focal optical systems for near-eye displays. This technique also promises a large aperture size, leading to wide field of view near-eye display solutions for AR applications. In theory, this approach can provide a full field of view solution with a display and aperture in the proper configuration. Upon completion of a working prototype, many perceptual user studies which were previously difficult to perform will become easily available, enabling a deeper understanding of the human visual system.