Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Displays: Perspectives and Challenges

Abstract

Summary As one of the most promising candidates for next-generation mobile platform, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) have potential to revolutionize the ways we perceive and interact with various digital information. In the meantime, recent advances in display and optical technologies, together with the rapidly developing digital processers, offer new development directions to advancing the near-eye display systems further. In this perspective paper, we start by analyzing the optical requirements in near-eye displays poised by the human visual system and then compare it against the specifications of state-of-the-art devices, which reasonably shows the main challenges in near-eye displays at the present stage. Afterward, potential solutions to address these challenges in both AR and VR displays are presented case by case, including the most recent optical research and development, which are already or have the potential to be industrialized for extended reality displays.

Fast response in‐plane switching liquid crystal display mode optimized for high‐resolution virtual‐reality head‐mounted display

“…LCDs are widely used owing to their high resolution, wide‐viewing angle characteristics, thin structure, lightweight, and low‐power consumption. Recently, virtual‐reality head‐mounted displays (VR‐HMDs) have emerged as an important application of electronic displays 1 . Because of the abovementioned advantages, LCD is also used as a display device in VR‐HMDs.…”

<p>First Evaluation of a Retinal Imaging Laser Eyewear System Based Low Vision Aid</p>

“…Future technical improvement might minimize this problem by including on-axis gaze tracking. 15 Already in 1858 Panum described the fusion ability despite small disparities between two separate images. 28 He evaluated the tolerance areas regarding the retinal location and could show that the amount of fused disparity is dependent on the image quality and the eccentricity of the retinal location.…”

“…13 As a result of advances in recent years, technology has been further developed to project full color images of a camera, integrated into a spectacle, directly onto the retina. 12 , 14 , 15 For this Retinal Imaging Laser Eye Wear (RILEW), a RGB (Red, Green and Blue)-Laser was used instead of the red laser diode by Furness et al, and the MRS-mirror was replaced by a microelectromechanical (MEMS) system, which allows even higher scan speeds (about 20ns) and thus higher-resolution (see Figure 1 ). Due to an autofocus and automated contrast settings the device can be operated in various circumstances and lighting conditions.…”

Enhancing the Optical Efficiency of Near-Eye Displays with Liquid Crystal Optics

“…After rapid development in the past decade, virtual reality (VR) headsets have become more powerful, and they can offer a relatively comfortable and immersive experience for users [1]. In the meantime, the continuous evolution of near-eye displays (NEDs) inside VR headsets is also remarkable [2]. About five years ago, mainstream VR headsets still required a smartphone screen to function as the display panel.…”