A Framework for Aberration Compensated Displays

We are building upon our earlier work in Vision-Realistic Rendering, which is the computation of a displayed image that incorporates the characteristics of a particular individual’s entire optical system. The key concept is, given the optical measurements of an individual’s optical system, perform an “inverse blurring” computation on what would normally be displayed such that when this blurred version of the display is then viewed by this individual, it will appear in sharp focus when viewed by the individual whose optical system was used for this inverse blurring computation. There are two major impediments to performing inverse blurring: the generated image will have large, and even negative, values for some intensities, and some frequencies are lost after blurring. Building a high dynamic range display system will overcome the large/negative intensities problems. Introducing multiple layers of display with each layer located at a different viewing distance will overcome the lost frequencies. Next, there is the question of occlusion due to the multiple layers. One solution would be to use transparent displays, but if they cannot support high dynamic range imaging then an alternative is to construct a light-path-modulating system using mirrors to change the path of lights. The potential benefits are enormous for people who require vision correction, especially those whose optical problems include high-order aberrations since these aberrations are not corrected by eyeglasses. One application would involve construction of an “Aberration Compensated Display” in which the display would show images that have been transformed by inverse blurring individualized to the viewer such that when viewed by his or her optical system the resulting image will appear sharp. This will be useful for displays for computer monitors and hand-held mobile devices such as tablets and mobile phones.