Wearable 3D augmented reality display
A wearable 3D augmented reality display and method, which may include 3D integral imaging optics.
1. A 3D augmented reality display, comprising:
a microdisplay for providing a virtual 3D image for display to a user;
display optics configured to receive optical radiation from the microdisplay and configured to create, at a reference plane, a 3D lightfield having a 3D volume of the received radiation; and
an eyepiece in optical communication with the display optics configured to receive the volume of the 3D lightfield from the display optics and configured to create a magnified virtual image of the 3D lightfield having a magnified 3D volume, at a virtual reference plane, the reference plane and virtual reference plane being optically conjugate to one another across the eyepiece, and the eyepiece configured to deliver the magnified 3D volume of the virutal image to an exit pupil of the augmented reality display.
2. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the display optics comprises integral imaging optics.
3. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the eyepiece comprises a selected surface configured to receive the 3D lightfield from the display optics and reflect the received radiation to the exit pupil, the selected surface also configured to receive optical radiation from a source other than the microdisplay and to transmit the optical radiation to the exit pupil.
4. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the eyepiece comprises a freeform prism shape.
5. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the eyepiece comprises a first surface configured to receive and refract optical radiation from the display optics and comprises a second surface configured to receive the refracted optical radiation from the first surface, the second surface configured to reflect the optical radiation to a third surface of the eyepiece, the third surface configured to reflect the optical radiation reflected from the second surface to the exit pupil.
6. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 5 , comprising a corrector lens disposed adjacent the second surface of the eyepiece.
7. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the surfaces of the eyepiece comprise a rotationally asymmetric surface.
8. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the eyepiece comprises a wedge shape.
9. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the eyepiece comprises a surface represented by the equation
z
=
cr
2
1
+
1
-
(
1
+
k
)
c
2
r
2
+
∑
j
=
2
66
C
j
x
m
y
n
j
=
(
m
+
n
)
2
+
m
+
3
n
2
+
1
,
where z is the sag of the free-form surface measured along the z-axis of a local x, y, z coordinate system, c is the vertex curvature (CUY), r is the radial distance, k is the conic constant, and C j is the coefficient for x m y n .
10. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the display optics comprises one or more of a holographic display, multi-layer computational lightfield display, and a volumetric display.
11. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the 3D lightfield provides full parallax.
12. The 3D augmented reality display of claim 1 , wherein the 3D lightfield at the reference plane has a first depth range associated with the 3D volume and wherein the eyepiece is structed to create the magnified virtual image with a second depth range that is magnified relative to the first depth range.