Magic Leap, Inc.

Hui-Chuan Cheng

Kevin R Curtis

Clinton Carlisle

William Hudson Welch

Lionel Ernest Edwin

Chulwoo Oh

Jahja I Trisnadi

Ivan Li Chuen Yeoh

Michael Anthony Klug

Bradley Jay Sissom

Hyunsun Chung

Brian T Schowengerdt

Miller Harry Schuck, Iii

Pierre St Hilaire

Eric C Browy

Paul M Greco

Hong Hua

Vaibhav Mathur

Jason A Schaefer

Samarth Bhargava

Robert Dale Tekolste

David Manly

William J Molteni, Jr

Christophe Peroz

Kevin Messer

Ivan L Yeoh

David Tinch

Joshua Naaman Haddock

Kevin Richard Curtis

Nicole Elizabeth Samec

Nastasja U Robaina

Adam Charles Carlson

Timothy Mark Dalrymple

Xiaoyang Zhang

Miller Schuck

Philip Premysler

Erik Heath Arend

Wei Chen Lin

Ivan Li Yeoh

Miller Harry Schuck Iii

Miller Harry Schuck

This disclosure describes a wearable display system configured to project light to the eye(s) of a user to display virtual (e.g., augmented reality) image content in a vision field of the user. The system can include light source(s) that output light, spatial light modulator(s) that modulate the light to provide the virtual image content, and an eyepiece configured to convey the modulated light toward the eye(s) of the user. The eyepiece can include waveguide(s) and a plurality of in-coupling optical elements arranged on or in the waveguide(s) to in-couple the modulated light received from the spatial light modulator(s) into the waveguide(s) to be guided toward the user's eye(s). The spatial light modulator(s) may be movable, and/or may include movable components, to direct different portions of the modulated light toward different ones of the in-coupling optical elements at different times.

Tilting array based display

A method and system for increasing dynamic digitized wavefront resolution, i.e., the density of output beamlets, can include receiving a single collimated source light beam and producing multiple output beamlets spatially offset when out-coupled from a waveguide. The multiple output beamlets can be obtained by offsetting and replicating a collimated source light beam. Alternatively, the multiple output beamlets can be obtained by using a collimated incoming source light beam having multiple input beams with different wavelengths in the vicinity of the nominal wavelength of a particular color. The collimated incoming source light beam can be in-coupled into the eyepiece designed for the nominal wavelength. The input beams with multiple wavelengths take different paths when they undergo total internal reflection in the waveguide, which produces multiple output beamlets.

Method and system for high resolution digitized display

An optical device may include a light turning element. The optical device can include a first surface that is parallel to a horizontal axis and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The optical device may include a light module that includes a plurality of light emitters. The light module can be configured to combine light for the plurality of emitters. The optical device can further include a light input surface that is between the first and the second surfaces and is disposed with respect to the light module to receive light emitted from the plurality of emitters. The optical device may include an end reflector that is disposed on a side opposite the light input surface. The second surface may be inclined such that a height of the light input surface is less than a height of the side opposite the light input surface. The light coupled into the light turning element may be reflected by the end reflector and/or reflected from the second surface towards the first surface.

Methods, devices, and systems for illuminating spatial light modulators

A wearable display system includes an eyepiece stack having a world side and a user side opposite the world side. During use, a user positioned on the user side views displayed images delivered by the wearable display system via the eyepiece stack which augment the user's field of view of the user's environment. The system also includes an optical attenuator arranged on the world side of the of the eyepiece stack, the optical attenuator having a layer of a birefringent material having a plurality of domains each having a principal optic axis oriented in a corresponding direction different from the direction of other domains. Each domain of the optical attenuator reduces transmission of visible light incident on the optical attenuator for a corresponding different range of angles of incidence.

Angularly selective attenuation of light transmission artifacts in wearable displays

In some embodiments, an augmented reality system includes at least one waveguide that is configured to receive and redirect light toward a user, and is further configured to allow ambient light from an environment of the user to pass therethrough toward the user. The augmented reality system also includes a first adaptive lens assembly positioned between the at least one waveguide and the environment, a second adaptive lens assembly positioned between the at least one waveguide and the user, and at least one processor operatively coupled to the first and second adaptive lens assemblies. Each lens assembly of the augmented reality system is selectively switchable between at least two different states in which the respective lens assembly is configured to impart at least two different optical powers to light passing therethrough, respectively. The at least one processor is configured to cause the first and second adaptive lens assemblies to synchronously switch between different states in a manner such that the first and second adaptive lens assemblies impart a substantially constant net optical power to ambient light from the environment passing therethrough.

Augmented reality display having multi-element adaptive lens for changing depth planes

Illuminations systems that separate different colors into laterally displaced beams may be used to direct different color image content into an eyepiece for displaying images in the eye. Such an eyepiece may be used, for example, for an augmented reality head mounted display. Illumination systems may be provided that utilize one or more waveguides to direct light from a light source towards a spatial light modulator. Light from the spatial light modulator may be directed towards an eyepiece. Some aspects of the invention provide for light of different colors to be outcoupled at different angles from the one or more waveguides and directed along different beam paths.

Display system with spatial light modulator illumination for divided pupils

Methods and systems for depth-based foveated rendering in the display system are disclosed. The display system may be an augmented reality display system configured to provide virtual content on a plurality of depth planes using different wavefront divergence. Some embodiments include monitoring eye orientations of a user of a display system based on detected sensor information. A fixation point is determined based on the eye orientations, the fixation point representing a three-dimensional location with respect to a field of view. Location information of virtual objects to present is obtained, with the location information indicating three-dimensional positions of the virtual objects. Resolutions of at least one virtual object is adjusted based on a proximity of the at least one virtual object to the fixation point. The virtual objects are presented to a user by display system with the at least one virtual object being rendered according to the adjusted resolution.

Depth based foveated rendering for display systems

A method of reducing optical artifacts includes injecting a light beam generated by an illumination source into a polarizing beam splitter (PBS), reflecting a spatially defined portion of the light beam from a display panel, reflecting, at an interface in the PBS, the spatially defined portion of the light beam towards a projector lens, passing at least a portion of the spatially defined portion of the light beam through a circular polarizer disposed between the PBS and the projector lens, reflecting, by one or more elements of the projector lens, a return portion of the spatially defined portion of the light beam, and attenuating, at the circular polarizer, the return portion of the spatially defined portion of the light beam.

Method of reducing optical artifacts

Images perceived to be substantially full color or multi-colored may be formed using component color images that are distributed in unequal numbers across a plurality of depth planes. The distribution of component color images across depth planes may vary based on color. In some embodiments, a display system includes a stack of waveguides that each output light of a particular color, with some colors having fewer numbers of associated waveguides than other colors. The waveguide stack may include multiple pluralities (e.g., first and second pluralities) of waveguides, each configured to produce an image by outputting light corresponding to a particular color. The total number of waveguides in the second plurality of waveguides may be less than the total number of waveguides in the first plurality of waveguides, and may be more than the total number of waveguides in a third plurality of waveguides, in embodiments that utilize three component colors.

Virtual and augmented reality systems and methods having unequal numbers of component color images distributed across depth planes

An imaging system includes a light source configured to generate a light beam. The system also includes first and second light guiding optical elements having respective first and second entry portions, and configured to propagate at least respective first and second portions of the light beam by total internal reflection. The system further includes a light distributor having a light distributor entry portion, a first exit portion, and a second exit portion. The light distributor is configured to direct the first and second portions of the light beam toward the first and second entry portions, respectively. The light distributor entry portion and the first exit portion are aligned along a first axis. The light distributor entry portion and the second exit portion are aligned along a second axis different from the first axis.

Virtual and augmented reality systems and methods

An eyepiece for projecting an image includes a first planar waveguide positioned in a first lateral plane. The first planar waveguide comprises a first diffractive optical element (DOE) disposed at a first lateral position. The eyepiece also includes a second planar waveguide positioned in a second lateral plane adjacent to the first lateral plane. The second planar waveguide comprises a second DOE disposed at a second lateral position different from the first lateral position. The eyepiece further includes a third planar waveguide positioned in a third lateral plane adjacent to the second lateral plane. The third planar waveguide comprises a third DOE disposed at a third lateral position different from the first lateral position and the second lateral position. The eyepiece also includes an optical filter positioned between the second planar waveguide and the third planar waveguide. The optical filter is disposed at the third lateral position.

Projector architecture incorporating artifact mitigation

An optical device may include a light turning element. The optical device can include a first surface that is parallel to a horizontal axis and a second surface opposite to the first surface. The optical device may include a light module that includes a plurality of light emitters. The light module can be configured to combine light for the plurality of emitters. The optical device can further include a light input surface that is between the first and the second surfaces and is disposed with respect to the light module to receive light emitted from the plurality of emitters. The optical device may include an end reflector that is disposed on a side opposite the light input surface. The light coupled into the light turning element may be reflected by the end reflector and/or reflected from the second surface towards the first surface.

An optical system for an augmented reality head mounted display eyepiece that is configured to deliver images to the eye wherein the optical system includes optics. The optics are disposed so as to receive light output from the light source. The optics further arranged with respect to a spatial light modulator such that the light received from the light source passes through the optics and illuminates the spatial light modulator. The light illuminating the spatial light modulator is redirected back through the optics and is coupled into at least one waveguide through at least one in-coupling optical element. At least a portion of the coupled light is ejected from at least one waveguide by at least one out-coupling optical element and directed to the eye of the user.

Waveguide illuminator

A method for displaying an image using a wearable display system including directing display light from a display towards a user through an eyepiece to project images in the user's field of view, determining a relative location between an ambient light source and the eyepiece, and adjusting an attenuation of ambient light from the ambient light source through the eyepiece depending on the relative location between the ambient light source and the eyepiece.

Tunable attenuation of light transmission artifacts in wearable displays

In a display system configured to display images at multiple depth planes, images perceived to be substantially full color or multi-colored may be formed using component color images that are distributed in unequal numbers across a plurality of depth planes. The distribution of component color images across the depth planes may vary based on color. In some embodiments, a display system includes a stack of waveguides that each output light of a particular color, with some colors having fewer numbers of associated waveguides than other colors. The stack of waveguides may include multiple pluralities of different numbers of waveguides, each plurality configured to produce an image by outputting light corresponding to a particular color. A display controller can introduce blur and/or change pixel size for images to be presented for at least one depth plane, based on the contents of images.

Growing community of inventors

Cooper City, FL, United States of America

Hui-Chuan Cheng