SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR GENERATING IMAGES USING RADIOMETRIC RESPONSE CHARACTERIZATIONS

1 . A display system comprising a first display source and a measurement device, wherein:

the first display source is configured to generate a first image comprising a plurality of illuminated points on a display surface;

the measurement device is configured to measure an output energy value of the first image at the display surface at one or more output wavelengths for input values provided to the first display source; and

the display system is programmed to:

generate a normalized response function of the first display source for each output wavelength, wherein the normalized response functions of the first display source correspond to the measured output energy values for the provided input values;

generate and store within a memory location a first response function comprising one or more of the normalized response functions of the first display source;

derive corrected image input values corresponding to a desired output energy value of the first display source at one or more illuminated points on the display surface based at least in part on the first response function; and

control the first display source to display the first image by applying the corrected input values derived from the first response function.

2 . A display system as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the display system further comprises a second display source;

the second display source is configured to generate a second image comprising a plurality of illuminated points on the display surface, thereby generating a multiple-display image comprising the first and second images;

the first display source and the second display source are configured such that at least a portion of the first image overlaps at least a portion of the second image in an overlap region of the multiple-display image, wherein each illuminated point within the overlap region of the multiple-display image comprises a first image contribution and a second image contribution;

the measurement device is configured to capture an output energy value of the second image at the display surface at one or more output wavelengths for input values provided to the second display source; and

the display system is programmed to:

generate a normalized response function of the second display source for each output wavelength, wherein the normalized response functions of the second display source correspond to the captured output energy values for the provided input values;

generate and store within a memory location a second response function comprising one or more normalized response functions of the second display source; and

derive corrected input values for the first and second display sources based at least in part on the first and second response functions and an attenuation value such that the first image contribution and the second image contribution combine to provide a desired output energy value at each illuminated point within the overlap region of the multiple-display image; and

control the first and second display sources to display the multiple-display image by applying the corrected input values derived from the first and second response functions.

3 . A display system as claimed in claim 2 wherein for one or more illuminated points of the multiple-display image, the display system is further programmed to:

transform a plurality of first image input values into corresponding output response values of the first display source in accordance with the first response function;

transform a plurality of second image input values into corresponding output response values of the second display source in accordance with the second response function;

apply the attenuation value to the output response values of the first and second display sources;

derive the corrected input values of the first display source using the attenuated output response values of the first display source by applying an inverse first response function; and

derive the corrected input values of the second display source using the attenuated output response values of the second display source by applying an inverse second response function.

4 . A display system as claimed in claim 2 wherein the display system comprises one or more additional display sources and the display system is configured such that one or more illuminated points within the multiple-display image are illuminated by one or more of the display sources.

5 . A display system as claimed in claim 1 wherein each output wavelength comprises a range of wavelengths centered on a base wavelength.

6 . A display system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the measurement device is configured to capture the output energy values at a first output wavelength, a second output wavelength and a third output wavelength.

7 . A display system as claimed in claim 6 wherein:

the first output wavelength comprises a range of wavelengths centered on a red base wavelength;

the second output wavelength comprises a range of wavelengths centered on a green base wavelength; and

the third output wavelength comprises a range of wavelengths centered on a blue base wavelength.

8 . A display system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the measurement device comprises a CCD camera or a radiometer.

9 . A display system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the measurement device comprises a filter for each output wavelength such that each filter allows radiation within a range of wavelengths to reach the measurement device.

10 . A display system as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the display system further comprises a graphics module;

the response function of the first display source comprises a three dimensional table; and

the three dimensional table and a corresponding inverse three dimensional table are stored in a memory location of the graphics module.

11 . A method of operating a display system comprising:

generating a first calibration image comprising a plurality of illuminated points on a display surface by sequentially providing a first display source with a plurality of input values;

measuring an output energy value of the first calibration image at the display surface at one or more output wavelengths for the input values provided to the first display source;

generating a normalized response function of the first display source for each output wavelength, wherein the normalized response functions of the first display source correspond to the measured output energy values of the first display source for the provided input values;

generating a first response function comprising one or more of the normalized response functions of the first display source; and

generating a first image at the display surface by providing corrected first image input values to the first display source, wherein the corrected input values correspond to a desired output energy value of the first display source at one or more illuminated points of the first image based at least in part on a plurality of first image input values, the first response function and an attenuation value.

12 . A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the method further comprises:

generating a second calibration image comprising a plurality of illuminated points on a display surface by sequentially providing a second display source with a plurality of input values;

measuring an output energy value of the second calibration image at the display surface at one or more output wavelengths for the input values provided to the second display source;

generating a normalized response function of the second display source for each output wavelength, wherein the normalized response functions of the second display source correspond to the measured output energy values for the provided input values;

generating a second response function comprising one or more normalized response functions of the second display source; and

generating a second image at the display surface by providing corrected second image input values to the second display source, wherein:

the first display source and the second display source are configured such that at least a portion of the first image overlaps at least a portion of the second image in an overlap region of the multiple-display image, wherein each illuminated point within the overlap region of the multiple-display image comprises a first image contribution and a second image contribution; and

the corrected second image input values correspond to a desired output energy value of the second display source at one or more illuminated points of the second image based at least in part on a plurality of second image input values, the second response function and the attenuation value such that the first image contribution and the second image contribution combine to provide a desired output energy value at each illuminated point within the overlap region of the multiple-display image.

13 . A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the method further comprises, for one or more illuminated points of the multiple-display image:

transforming the first image input values for each illuminated point within the overlap region into output response values of the first display source in accordance with the first response function, and transforming the second image input values into output response values of the second display source in accordance with the second response function;

applying the attenuation value to the output response values of the first and second display sources; and

deriving the corrected input values of the first display source using the attenuated output response values of the first display source by applying an inverse first response function, and deriving the corrected input values of the second display source using the attenuated output response values of the second display source by applying an inverse second response function.

14 . A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein each output wavelength comprises a range of wavelengths centered on a base wavelength.

15 . A method as claimed in claim 11 wherein the measurement device is configured to capture the output energy values at a first output wavelength, a second output wavelength and a third output wavelength.

16 . A method as claimed in claim 15 wherein:

the first output wavelength comprises a range of wavelengths centered on a red base wavelength;

the second output wavelength comprises a range of wavelengths centered on a green base wavelength; and

the third output wavelength comprises a range of wavelengths centered on a blue base wavelength.

17 . A method of operating a display system comprising a first display source and a second display source, the method comprising:

generating a first image comprising a plurality of illuminated points on a display surface;

generating a second image comprising a plurality of illuminated points on the display surface, thereby generating a multiple-display image comprising the first and second images, wherein at least a portion of the first image overlaps at least a portion of the second image in an overlap region of the multiple-display image such that each illuminated point within the overlap region of the multiple-display image comprises a first image contribution generated by the first display source and a second image contribution generated by the second display source;

transforming first image input values for one or more illuminated points of the first image within the overlap region into output response values of the first display source, and transforming second image input values for one or more illuminated points of the second image within the overlap region into output response values of the second display source;

deriving corrected first image input values corresponding to the illuminated points of the first image within the overlap region from the output response values of the first display source, and deriving corrected second image input values corresponding to the illuminated points of the second image within the overlap region from the output response values of the second display source; and

controlling the first and second display sources to display the multiple-display image by applying the corrected first image input values and the corrected second image input values such that the first image contribution and the second image contribution combine to provide a desired output energy value at one or more illuminated points within the overlap region of the multiple-display image.

18 . A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the method further comprises:

generating a first calibration image comprising a plurality of illuminated points on a display surface by sequentially providing the first display source with a plurality of calibration input values;

generating a second calibration image comprising a plurality of illuminated points on a display surface by sequentially providing the second display source with the plurality of calibration input values;

measuring an output energy value of the first and second calibration images at the display surface at one or more output wavelengths for each of the input values provided to the first and second display sources;

generating a normalized response function of the first and second display sources for each output wavelength, wherein each normalized response function of the first and second display sources corresponds to the measured output energy values of the first and second display sources for the provided input values; and

generating a first response function comprising one or more normalized response functions of the first display source and a second response function comprising one or more normalized response functions of the second display source.

19 . A method as claimed in claim 18 wherein the method further comprises applying an attenuation value to the output response values of the first and second display sources for each illuminated point within overlap region.

20 . A method as claimed in claim 19 wherein:

the first image input values are transformed into the output response values of the first display source in accordance with the first response function;

the second image input values are transformed into the output response values of the second display source in accordance with the second response function;

the corrected first image input values are derived from the attenuated output response values of the first display source by an inverse first response function; and

the corrected second image input values are derived from the attenuated output response values of the second display source by an inverse second response function.