See-through aerial imaging display with eyebox control optical system.

Area of Science:

• Optics
• Optical Engineering
• Virtual Reality Technology

Background:

• Traditional virtual reality head-mounted displays (HMDs) often restrict user movement.
• Controlling the eyebox (EB) is crucial for maintaining visual comfort and immersion in HMDs.
• Aerial imaging by retro-reflection (AIRR) requires precise optical alignment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate a novel non-mechanical eyebox (EB) control optical system for AIRR.
• To eliminate the necessity of wearing a virtual reality head-mounted display (HMD) for AIRR.
• To enhance user positional freedom during AIRR applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of a non-mechanical optical system integrating AIRR with virtual reality (VR) HMD optics.
• Utilized a Pancharatnam Berry phase diffraction grating (PBP-DG) as a one-dimensional (1D) EB position-shifting device.
• Fabricated a demonstrator to validate the proposed optical system.

Main Results:

• The demonstrator successfully shifted the eyebox (EB) approximately 8 mm horizontally.
• The PBP-DG was positioned 30 mm away from the VR HMD optics for EB shifting.
• Confirmed that virtual image distance is adjustable by altering the display-to-VR HMD optics distance.

Conclusions:

• The proposed non-mechanical EB control optical system effectively enhances user freedom for AIRR.
• Pancharatnam Berry phase diffraction gratings offer a viable solution for non-mechanical EB control.
• This technology has potential applications in improving user experience for immersive imaging systems.