Focal surface display: Difference between revisions - VR & AR Wiki

Line 7:

Focal surface display is a technology developed by [[Oculus]] Research that improves focus on images generated by a [[virtual reality]] (VR) [[head-mounted display]] (HMD) by simulating the way the eyes naturally focus at real object of varying depths (Figure 1). <ref name=”1”>Oculus VR (2017). Oculus Research to present focal surface display discovery at SIGGRAPH. Retrieved from https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-research-to-present-focal-surface-display-discovery-at-siggraph/</ref>

While modern VR experiences are superior to what they were just a few years ago, the Oculus focal surface display addresses a perceptual limitation of current HMDs: not being able to display scene content at correct focal depths. These HMDs have a fixed-focus accommodation determined by the headset’s eyepiece focal length. Although they give the illusion of depth from the stereo images, the images are essentially flat, at a fixed perceived distance from the face and with a focus selected by the software instead of the eyes. Scene content with a virtual distance from the viewer different than the fixed focal distance of the headset’s screen will lead to a vergence-accommodation conflict - arising from binocular disparity cues (vergence) in conflict with focus cues (accommodation). The vergence-accommodation conflict prevents the VR content scenes from appearing sharply in focus and may contribute to user’s fatigue and discomfort. <ref name=”2”>Comp Photo Lab. Focal surface displays. Retrieved from http://compphotolab.northwestern.edu/project/focal-surface-displays/</ref> <ref name=”3”>Miller, P. (2017). Oculus Research's focal surface display could make VR much more comfortable for our eyeballs. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/5/19/15667172/oculus-research-focal-surface-display-vr-comfort-eye-tracking</ref> <ref name=”4”>Coppock, M. (2017). Oculus developing ‘focal surface display’ for better VR image clarity. Retrieved from https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/oculus-working-on-focal-surface-display-technology-for-improved-visual-clarity</ref>

While modern VR experiences are superior to what they were just a few years ago, the Oculus focal surface display addresses a perceptual limitation of current HMDs: not being able to display scene content at correct focal depths. These HMDs have a fixed-focus accommodation determined by the headset’s eyepiece focal length. Although they give the illusion of depth from the stereo images, the images are essentially flat, at a fixed perceived distance from the face and with a focus selected by the software instead of the eyes. Scene content with a virtual distance from the viewer different than the fixed focal distance of the headset’s screen will lead to a [[vergence-accommodation conflict]] - arising from binocular disparity cues (vergence) in conflict with focus cues (accommodation). The vergence-accommodation conflict prevents the VR content scenes from appearing sharply in focus and may contribute to user’s fatigue and discomfort. <ref name=”2”>Comp Photo Lab. Focal surface displays. Retrieved from http://compphotolab.northwestern.edu/project/focal-surface-displays/</ref> <ref name=”3”>Miller, P. (2017). Oculus Research's focal surface display could make VR much more comfortable for our eyeballs. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/5/19/15667172/oculus-research-focal-surface-display-vr-comfort-eye-tracking</ref> <ref name=”4”>Coppock, M. (2017). Oculus developing ‘focal surface display’ for better VR image clarity. Retrieved from https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/oculus-working-on-focal-surface-display-technology-for-improved-visual-clarity</ref>

According to Oculus Research, the focal surface display has a new approach to avoid the vergence-accommodation conflict by changing the way light enters the display using spatial light modulators (Figure 2) to bend the HMD’s focus around 3D objects. This results in an increased depth and maximizes the amount of space represented. <ref name=”1”></ref>

Line 15:

The development of the Oculus focal surface display was an interdisciplinary task, “combining leading hardware engineering, scientific and medical imaging, computer vision research, and state-of-the-art algorithms to focus on next-generation VR.” This technology could even allow people who wear corrective lenses use a VR HMD without glasses. <ref name=”1”></ref>

There had been previous attempts to solve the vergence-accommodation conflict such as using integral imaging techniques to synthesize light ~~fields~~ from scene content or displaying multiple focal planes, but these suffered from such problems as low fidelity accommodation cues, low resolution, and low field of view. The focal surface display is expected to generate high fidelity accommodation cues using off-the-shelf optical components. The spatial light modulator - placed between the display screen and eyepiece - produces variable focus along the display field of view. <ref name=”2”></ref>

There had been previous attempts to solve the vergence-accommodation conflict such as using integral imaging techniques to synthesize [[light field]]s from scene content or displaying multiple focal planes, but these suffered from such problems as low fidelity accommodation cues, low resolution, and low field of view. The focal surface display is expected to generate high fidelity accommodation cues using off-the-shelf optical components. The spatial light modulator - placed between the display screen and eyepiece - produces variable focus along the display field of view. <ref name=”2”></ref>

Currently, there is no planned commercial release for the focal surface display technology. <ref name=”6”></ref>