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

增强现实(AR)具有将计算机图形学和人类视觉系统相结合的潜力。这项技术已被证明可以在通信、可访问性、工人效率和医学等领域提高任务绩效。然而，AR技术的使用还不是很广泛，它仍然被视为一种新鲜事物。PI认为，这在一定程度上是因为缺乏足够的显示技术来支持引人注目的应用。当今最先进的头戴式设备呈现的是距离用户眼睛固定距离的平面图像，而光学透视式设备在视野覆盖方面往往相当有限。在这个探索性项目中，PI和他的团队将设计和实现一个新的透视式增强现实显示系统的原型，该系统提供宽视场和可变焦深。如果成功，该设备将为新一类增强现实显示奠定基础，使虚拟对象能够在任何位置具有与现实世界对象相同的焦深，创造更好的真实和虚拟融合，这将使社会能够利用增强现实可以提供的功能。这类新的显示器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具有更广泛的研究应用。PI的方法依赖于可变形的薄膜光学组合器，其形状可以改变虚拟图像的光学厚度。该单一光学元件解决方案还允许创建覆盖大部分视野的虚拟图像。通过使用单个反射光学元件作为变焦继电器光学元件，该项目将简化近眼显示器的透视式变焦光学系统的设计。这项技术还有望实现大口径，从而为增强现实应用提供宽视场近眼显示解决方案。从理论上讲，这种方法可以提供具有适当配置的显示器和光圈的全视场解决方案。在完成工作原型后，许多以前难以执行的知觉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.