Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC

Other

Steven John Robbins

Xinye Lou

Yarn Chee Poon

Rod G Fleck

William Jefferson Westerinen

Tapani Levola

David Douglas Bohn

Pasi Saarikko

Eliezer Glik

Rajeev Badyal

R Andrew Wall

Scott Charles McEldowney

Joel Steven Kollin

Andreas Georgiou

Drew Edward Steedly

Michael James Escuti

Ian Anh Nguyen

Scott Woltman

Andrew Kilgour Juenger

Erica Lee Towle

Lena Adele Wolfe

Andrew Maimone

Tuomas Vallius

Sung Ho Son

Jeb Wu

Michael Edward Samples

Richard Andrew Wall

Zhiqiang Liu

Pasi Antero Kostamo

Richard Allen James

Lisa M Hanson

James Randolph Webster

Richard James Wattles

Sihui He

Lu Lu

Bernard Charles Kress

Joshua Owen Miller

Mengfei Wang

Andrew Clark Goris

Nathan Ackerman

Yijing Fu

Dmitry Reshidko

Navid Poulad

Jani Kari Tapio Tervo

Quentin Simon Charles Miller

Adrian Robert Leigh Travis

Tuomas Heikki Sakari Vallius

Gangok Lee

Christopher Charles Aholt

Xiayu Feng

Hsien-Hui Cheng

Joseph Daniel Lowney

Srinivasarao Boddapati

Nicholas Mark Cirucci

Zhexin Zhao

KengHui Lin

Chienchih Hsiung

Joshua A Hudman

Jihwan Kim

Richard A James

Richard A Wall

Ian A Nguyen

Scott Mceldowney

Pasi Kostamo

A diffractive waveguide device includes an optical waveguide and a diffractive element optically coupled to the optical waveguide. The diffractive element is configured to alter a polarization and propagation direction of light of a first polarization, and is configured to transmit light of a second polarization without substantially altering a polarization or propagation direction thereof. A polarizing film assembly is configured to provide the light of the second polarization to the optical waveguide, and/or is configured to block the light of the second polarization from the optical waveguide. The polarizing film assembly includes a polarizer and an optical retarder that is positioned between the polarizer and the optical waveguide. Related devices and methods of operation are also discussed.

Optical elements for reducing visual artifacts in diffractive waveguide displays and systems incorporating the same

A device is provided. The device includes a light guide configured to guide a first light propagating therein. The device also includes an optical film coupled with the light guide, optically anisotropic molecules in the optical film being configured with an in-plane orientation pattern having an in-plane pitch along the predetermined in-plane direction. Within the in-plane pitch of the in-plane orientation pattern, azimuthal angles of the optically anisotropic molecules are configured to vary nonlinearly along the predetermined in-plane direction. The optical film is configured to diffract the first light as a plurality of second lights at a plurality of locations of the optical film, with a plurality of predetermined, different diffraction efficiencies.

Liquid crystal polarization hologram with enhanced angular luminance uniformity and system including the same

A multi-spectral optical imaging device includes a switchable element configured to be switched between first and second states, one of which alters a polarization of light, and a geometric phase element arranged to receive the light from the switchable element. The geometric phase element is configured to diffract a first wavelength band of the light to alter a direction of propagation thereof based on the polarization and without substantially altering a direction of propagation of a second wavelength band of the light, responsive to the first state of the switchable element. Related optical shutters and multi-spectral optical detectors are also discussed.

Optical elements for integrated IR and visible camera for depth sensing and systems incorporating the same

A color correction mask programmatically generated in software on an HMD device is applied to a gaze region on a display field of view (FOV) on a head-mounted display (HMD) device to optimize system resources while rendering a display. Eye monitoring sensors are utilized to track movement of a user's eyes while the user operates the HMD device to determine a gaze position of the user's eyes on the display FOV. Using the determined gaze position, a dynamic foveal gaze region is sized around the gaze position so that the foveal portion of the display FOV is color-corrected, that is, color non-uniformities are reduced or eliminated. In other implementations, a gaze-based weighting mode is implemented in which measurements of the user's full eye or eye orbit are utilized to color correct a larger surface area of the display FOV relative to the foveal color correction mode.

Foveated color correction to improve color uniformity of head-mounted displays

Head-mounted display visor assembly. A head mounted display visor assembly includes a molded world-facing visor coupled to a separately molded user-facing bathtub. The visor includes an IR opaque and visual light opaque portion coupled to a separately manufactured IR permissive portion. The visor also includes an IR opaque portion. The bathtub includes an IR permissive, but visual light opaque portion and a visual light permissive portion.

HMD visor assembly

Light guide display and field of view techniques are described. In one or more implementations, an apparatus includes one or more modules implemented at least partially in hardware to configure a user interface and a display device communicatively coupled to the one or more modules to output the user interface to be viewable by a user within a range of distances from the display device such that closer distances within the range permit the user to have an increased field of view in comparison with distances within the range that are further away from the user.

Light guide display and field of view

An optical system that deploys micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) scanners to contemporaneously generate CG images and to scan a terrain of a real-world environment. An illumination engine emits a first spectral bandwidth and a second spectral bandwidth into an optical assembly along a common optical path. The optical assembly then separates the spectral bandwidth by directing the first spectral bandwidth onto an image-generation optical path and the second spectral bandwidth onto a terrain-mapping optical path. The optical system deploys the MEMS scanners to generate CG images by directing the first spectral bandwidth within the image-generation optical path and also to irradiate a terrain by directing the second spectral bandwidth within the terrain-mapping optical path. Accordingly, the disclosed system provides substantial reductions in both weight and cost for systems such as, for example, augmented reality and virtual reality systems.

Compact optical system with MEMS scanners for image generation and object tracking

An optical device comprises a pixel array including one or more pixels. Two or more independently controllable electrodes are electrically coupled to each pixel. A common ground reference electrode is electrically coupled to all pixels of the pixel array. Each pixel includes a plurality of liquid crystal molecules. The liquid crystal molecules may be oriented in a first direction based on a first function of voltages applied by the two or more independently controllable electrodes for the pixel, and oriented in a second direction based on a second function of the voltages applied by the two or more independently controllable electrodes for the pixel. In this way, both phase modulation and polarization modulation may be introduced to light illuminating the pixel array.

Optical device having multiplexed electrodes

The technology provides decoupling an aspheric optical element from a birdbath optical element in a near-eye display (NED) device. One or more aspheric lens are used with a spherical birdbath reflective mirror in a projection light engine of a NED device. A projection light engine provides image light (or other information), by way of the spherical birdbath reflective mirror and at least one aspheric lens, to a near-eye display of the NED device. The spherical birdbath reflective mirror collimates and reflects the image light to an exit pupil external to the projection light engine. Decoupling the aspheric optical element from the spherical birdbath reflective mirror may enable high modulation transfer function (MTF) and improved manufacturability of the projection light engine. The NED device having aspheric optical elements decoupled from a birdbath optical element may be positioned by a support structure in a head-mounted display (HMD) or head-up display (HUD).

Spherical mirror having a decoupled aspheric

A wearable image display system includes a headpiece, a first and a second light engine, and a first and a second optical component. The first and second light engines generate a first and a second set of beams respectively, each beam substantially collimated so that the first and second set form a first and a second virtual image respectively. Each optical component is located to project an image onto a first and a second eye of a wearer respectively. The first and second sets of beams are directed to incoupling structures of the first and second optical components respectively. Exit structures of the first and second optical components guide the first and second sets of beams onto the first and second eyes respectively. The optical components are located between the light engines and the eyes. Both of the light engines are mounted to a central portion of the headpiece.

Image display system

A non-telecentric display system that prevents ghost images includes an optical waveguide and a display engine. An image former of the display engine includes a reflective surface having a surface normal thereto. An illumination engine of the display engine emits light towards the reflective surface of the image former such that chief rays are offset by acute angles from the surface normal to the reflective surface. The display engine directs light corresponding to an image, that reflects off the reflective surface of the image former, towards an input-coupler of the optical waveguide so light corresponding to the image is coupled therein and travels by total internal reflection to an output-coupler of the waveguide. Ghost images are prevented at least in part due to the chief rays of light emitted by the illumination engine being offset by acute angles from the surface normal to the reflective surface.

Display device system with non-telecentric imaging to prevent ghost images

An input-coupler of an optical waveguide includes one or more Bragg polarization gratings for coupling light corresponding to the image in two different directions into the optical waveguide. The input-coupler splits the FOV of the image coupled into the optical waveguide into first and second portions by diffracting a portion of the light corresponding to the image in a first direction toward a first intermediate component, and diffracting a portion of the light corresponding to the image in a second direction toward a second intermediate component. An output-coupler of the waveguide combines the light corresponding to the first and second portions of the FOV, and couples the light corresponding to the combined first and second portions of the FOV out of the optical waveguide so that the light corresponding to the image and the combined first and second portions of the FOV is output from the optical waveguide. The input-coupler splitting the light to two or more intermediate components provides an increased FOV.

Field of view tiling in waveguide-based near-eye displays

In embodiments of waveguide optics focus elements, an imaging structure includes a waveguide for viewing of an environment that is viewable with the imaging structure. The waveguide transmits light of a virtual image that is generated to appear as part of the environment for augmented-reality imaging or virtual-reality imaging. The imaging structure also includes one or more focus elements that are integrated in the waveguide and switchable to focus the virtual image at a focus depth that approximately correlates to a focal distance of the environment. The focus elements can each be implemented for a different focus depth of the virtual image, and the focus depth is adjustable based on a combination of the focus elements being switched-on or switched-off.

Waveguide optics focus elements

Devices, systems, and methods corresponding to addressing misalignment in display systems are provided. A method includes using a first microelectromechanical system (MEMS) mirror, directing a first signal from a first light source to an alignment tracking waveguide. The method further includes receiving by a first photosensor a first portion of the first signal via the alignment tracking waveguide and determining a first alignment indicator associated with the first portion of the first signal. The method further includes using a second MEMS mirror, directing a second signal from a second light source to the alignment tracking waveguide. The method further includes receiving by a second photosensor a second portion of the second signal via the alignment tracking waveguide and determining a second alignment indicator associated with the second portion of the second signal.

Display alignment tracking in display systems

Augmented reality and physical game techniques are described. In one or more implementations, an indication is received by a computing device of a location of a physical gaming piece of a game. An augmentation is computed based on the indication by the computing device to be displayed as part of the game. The augmentation is displayed by the computing device on a display device that is at least partially transparent such that a physical portion of the game is viewable through the display device concurrently with the augmentation.

Augmented reality and physical games

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Redmond, WA, United States of America

Steven John Robbins