Light field displays with computational vision correction for astigmatism and high-order aberrations with real-time...

Area of Science:

• Optics
• Computational Imaging
• Visual Science

Background:

• Near-eye displays require vision correction for widespread use, but current optics like varifocal and freeform struggle with astigmatism (AST) and high-order aberrations (HOAs).
• A computational approach is needed for flexible, volume-neutral correction of AST and HOAs, supporting real-time rendering.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a computational vision correction method using light field displays for astigmatism and high-order aberrations.
• To achieve high prescription flexibility and real-time rendering without increased hardware complexity or display volume.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing light field displays to manipulate sampling rays, computationally refocusing voxels onto the retina by updating the elemental image array (EIA).
• Calculating corrections based on eye wavefront maps and refining them via iterative optimization with a schematic eye model.
• Developing a voxel-based EIA generation method with pre-computed lookup tables for ultra-fast rendering.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated correction of AST and HOAs, achieving sampling ray distribution within ±1 arcmin on the retina.
• Synthesized images recovered to near-normal clarity.
• Achieved an ultra-fast rendering speed of 10ms per frame using a novel voxel-based EIA generation method.

Conclusions:

• Light field displays offer a fully computational solution for vision correction, effectively addressing AST and HOAs.
• The proposed method provides high prescription flexibility, real-time performance, and no increase in hardware complexity.
• Experimental verification confirmed significant image recovery for eyes with introduced AST and HOAs.