F. Poszat Hu, LLC

Qinetiq Limited

Colin D Cameron

Peter C Cowling

Christopher William Slinger

Christopher Paul Wilson

A three dimensional display apparatus includes a diffraction panel for displaying a computer generated hologram and a look-up table. The look-up table includes a plurality of phase entries corresponding to a plurality of image points within a three dimensional image replay volume of the computer generated hologram. The apparatus further includes one or more processors configured to notionally divide the computer generated hologram into one or more hogels and to calculate diffraction fringe information for at least one of the hogels based on a selection of the phase entries.

Computer generated hologram

The invention provides an improved means for displaying computer generated hologram (CGH). Images appearing in the image volume are realised as a set of planar facets that approximate to the shape of the original object to be displayed. These facets are populated with points, that act as the visible parts of the displayed image. When an object is displayed, certain facets will not be face on the viewing zone. This will result in an apparent surplus of points on these facets, which is wasteful of computing effort. The current invention thus provides for certain facets to be denuded of points if these facets are not presented face on to the viewing zone of the CGH. The invention is mainly applicable for producing CGHs using the interference based algorithm, but can also be used in other types of 3D display that make up objects from an array of points.

Three dimensional display

A method of displaying a computer generated hologram includes displaying the image as a set of facets that approximated to the true shape of the object to be displayed. Each of these facets is populated with points that together make up the image. The invention provides a number of array structures that allow adjoining facets at different orientations and angles to be populated with point without creating areas around the join of either point overpopulation or point underpopulation, and so results in a higher quality image. The invention is mainly applicable for producing interference base Computer Generated Holograms, but can also be used in other types of 3D display that make up objects from an array of points.

Computer generated hologram display system

A method of generating a Computer Generated Hologram (CGH) using the diffraction specific algorithm allows a curved wavefront to be produced from a single hogel, rather than the planar waves of the prior art. This allows a wavefront from a singel hogel to generate a point in the image volume. An imaginary wavefront is transmitted from each point in the image volume and sampled at a plurality of points over the hogel. These samples are used to produce a set of complex Fourier coefficients that can be used to approximate the original waveform.

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Malvern, United Kingdom

Colin D Cameron