The visual discomfort caused by vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC) and low angular resolution has been one of the main issues for near eye display devices. Although numerous researches on light-field displays have been presented as possible solutions to reduce the discomfort by reproducing depth cues, the resolution degradation of the system is still a challenging problem. In this paper, we demonstrate a high-resolution light-field near-eye display based on integral imaging using foveated imaging system with two display panels and an optical combiner. The concept of foveated imaging system is based on the fact that human eyes perceives images with the highest sensitivity only in the central vision which covers about 5° of the visual field, and not in the peripheral vision. The first display panel, which is coupled with a lens array, is optically minified to provide resolution-enhanced light-field 3D images with relatively high pixel density for the central foveal area, and the second one offers background images with wide field-of-view (FOV) for the surrounding area. By combining these two images with an optical combiner, it is possible to achieve foveated light-field 3D images concentrated on the central foveal area with highly enhanced resolution while providing wide FOV for the peripheral area. The proposed near eye display effectively reduces VAC for the eye-gazing area.
The visual performance, in terms of both the resolution and the field of view (FOV), of a single near-eye display (NED), is often restricted by its pixel density. There are plenty of attempts to solve this issue in the research literature, but those solutions would adversely affect the system’s form factor. This paper discusses an advanced foveated imaging system using a dual display with a built-in tilting feature, which allows efficient integration with external eye-tracking systems. One of the displays generates a super-resolution foveal image when it experiences optical minimization upon reflection on a fabricated tilting concave mirror (TCM). Besides that, the TCM capable of up to eight-directional actuation with its mechanism governed by four hydraulic pressure-driven membrane-formed cavities (MFCs). The other display that does not undergo any optical modification creates a low-resolution peripheral view. Subsequently, a foveated image with a wide FOV is projected through an eyepiece lens when images from both displays are combined. Here, the apparent foveal image experiences about five times enhancement at a system dimension of 12 x 10 x 5 cm. Furthermore, the achieved tilting range of the TCM reaches about 20° in both the x and y-direction. This system design, which aims to mimic the perception of a human eye to provide a realistic viewing in a NED, has challenged the conventional trade-off issue between resolution and FOV as well as the relative form factor.
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