Methods of rendering light field images for integral-imaging-based light field display

1. A method for rendering light field images of a 3D scene in an HMD using an integral-imaging-based light field display, comprising:

providing integral imaging (InI) optics including a microdisplay, the InI optics having a central depth plane (CDP) associated therewith, the InI optics including a microlens array of lenslets;

providing an eyepiece in optical communication with the InI optics, the eyepiece and the InI optics together providing InI-HMD optics;

sampling the 3D scene using a simulated virtual array of cameras so that each camera captures a respective portion of the 3D scene to create a plurality of elemental images, the elemental images collectively comprising image data for display on the microdisplay, wherein the step of sampling the 3D scene comprises positioning each virtual camera such that each virtual camera location corresponds to the intersection of a chief ray of a corresponding lenslet of the microlens array with an exit pupil of the InI-HMD optics; and

displaying the image data on the microdisplay.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the InI optics is configured to create a virtual CDP that is the optical conjugate plane to the microdisplay in visual space, and wherein the 3D scene comprises a depth of interest (DOI) through which the 3D scene extends along a visual axis, the 3D scene having an average DOI, and comprising setting the focal length of the vari-focal element so that the location of the virtual CDP coincides with the average DOI of the 3D scene.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the InI optics is configured to create a virtual CDP that is the optical conjugate plane to the microdisplay in visual space, and wherein the 3D scene comprises a depth of interest (DOI) through which the 3D scene extends along a visual axis, and comprising:

selecting a plurality of depths distributed along the visual axis within the DOI of the 3D scene; and

for each selected depth of the plurality of depths, setting the focal length of the vari-focal element so that the location of each virtual CDP coincides with the selected depth to create a plurality of virtual CDP's each virtual CDP coinciding with a respective selected depth of the plurality of depths.

4. The method of claim 3 , comprising for each selected depth of the plurality of depths, sequentially displaying on the microdisplay a portion of the 3D scene associated with each selected depth, and wherein the step of setting the focal length of the vari-focal element is synchronized to the timing of the sequential displaying on the microdisplay.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the InI optics comprises a relay group, with the vari-focal element disposed therein, the relay group configured to receive light fields created by the microdisplay and to create an intermediate 3D scene on the optical axis of the selected 3D scene, the relay group configured to tune the position along the optical axis of the intermediate 3D scene.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the microdisplay is configured to create light fields of the 3D scene at a selected position along an optical axis of the system, and the relay group disposed on the optical axis at a location so the selected position is an optical conjugate of the relay group.

7. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

providing the integral imaging (InI) optics with a vari-focal element, wherein the step of displaying image data on the microdisplay, includes displaying image data comprising elemental images each representing a different perspective of the 3D scene; and

setting the focal length of the vari-focal element to adjust the location of the CDP.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein each simulated virtual camera's viewing axis matches the chief ray direction of a corresponding lenslet seen through the InI optics.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein the step of sampling the 3D scene comprises providing a simulated virtual array of sensors, each sensor in optical communication with a corresponding selected one of the virtual cameras to provide a simulated virtual camera-sensor pair, wherein the separation between each camera-sensor pair is such that the field of view of each camera-sensor pair matches the field-of-view of a corresponding lenslet of the microlens array.