Google Inc.

North Corporation

Timothy Paul Bodiya

Shreyas Potnis

Daniel Robert Adema

Stefan Alexander

Stuart James Myron Nicholson

Douglas Raymond Dykaar

John Otto Vieth

Jackie Lynn Mills

Ian Andrews

Syed Moez Haque

Bergen Fletcher

Andrew S Logan

Steven Benjamin Goldberg

Dan Adema

Dwayne A Wasylyshyn

Thibault Louis David Leportier

Ali Karbasi

Improving the performance and efficiency of waveguide gratings while also improving the anti-reflection performance of the waveguide can be achieved by selective application of a dielectric anti-reflective coating (or coatings) to distinct regions of the waveguide. For example, a multi-layer dielectric anti-reflective coating is selectively applied to the region of the waveguide between an exit pupil expander grating and an outcoupler grating wherein light is transmitted within the waveguide via instances of total internal reflection (TIR) and where no gratings are typically present. By selectively excluding the regions of the waveguide containing gratings from receiving the anti-reflective coating, such as the incoupler and outcoupler regions, the performance of the gratings can be improved for their respective functions without compromising the anti-reflection performance of the waveguide overall.

Waveguide with regional anti-reflection coating

Systems and techniques are described for generating a color image by computationally combining chromatically undersampled and shifted information present in multiple component image frames captured via a sparse color filter array that includes a minority of wavelength-filtered picture elements and a remaining majority of panchromatic picture elements. A burst capture is initiated of multiple image frames via a color filter array comprising a plurality of subunits, each subunit including a minority of one or more wavelength-filtered adjacent pixels and a majority of remaining panchromatic pixels. Each of the multiple image frames is processed to generate a resulting color image.

Sparse color image sensor system

A system includes a feedback loop that includes a light engine to generate light, a light engine controller to control operation of the light engine, a scanning device to scan a light beam across a range of scan angles to an incoupler of a waveguide, a photo-sensor to measure an amount of light outcoupled through the incoupler of the waveguide at the range of incident angles. The light engine controller adjusts one or more of a pulse duration, a phase, or a pulse frequency of the scanned light, based on an incident angle of the scanned light and the measured amount of light.

Coupling narrowband projector source light into display waveguides

A waveguide including at least a first photopolymer layer and a second photopolymer layer having a barrier layer therebetween and a first transparent layer and second transparent layer overlaying the first and second photopolymer layers, respectively. The waveguide can further include at least one holographic incoupler and at least one holographic outcoupler, each configured to be responsive to light within a first waveband and unresponsive to light outside of the first waveband, and further configured to be transmissive or reflective.

Holographic waveguide

A head-mounted display (HMD) system includes a lens element supported by a support structure. The lens element includes a waveguide that includes an incoupler, an outcoupler, and an exit pupil expander. The incoupler is disposed within a first area of the waveguide. The outcoupler is disposed within a second area of the waveguide. The exit pupil expander is disposed within a third area of the waveguide. An anti-reflection coating is formed via fabrication used to form the incoupler, the outcoupler, and the exit pupil expander. The anti-reflection coating is disposed within a fourth area of the waveguide different than the first, second, and third areas of the waveguide.

Waveguide with anti-reflection properties

A head-mounted display (HMD) system including a lens element supported by a support structure, the lens element having a waveguide with an incoupler configured to receive light from an optical scanner of the HMD. The incoupler is configured with multiple features varying in at least one of height, spacing, angle, or density. The features may be separated into discrete zones along the incoupler such that at least one of height, spacing, angle, or density of the plurality of features is varied over the incoupler and constant within a given zone or the features may be varied continuously across the incoupler.

Spatial variance along waveguide incoupler

Systems and methods for incoupling light into a waveguide. A system includes a transfer optic and an optical scanner being configured to receive light from an optical engine. The optical scanner includes a first scan mirror positioned close to the transfer optic. The system further includes a waveguide with an incoupler positioned close to the transfer optic, which is configured to direct the light from the optical engine to the first scan mirror and to transmit light reflected from the first scan mirror to one of a second scan mirror or the incoupler of the waveguide.

Systems, devices, and methods for inputting light from a scanning projector into a waveguide

A display system varies a size of a field of view area of a display for augmented reality (AR) applications based on at least one of ambient light in the environment and content displayed at the display and varying a brightness level of the field of view area such that the brightness level within the field of view area is inversely proportional to the field of view area. Based on an amount of ambient light detected in the environment of the display system, the display system adjusts the size of the area of the field of view of the display in inverse proportion to the amount of detected ambient light. As the size of the field of view area decreases, the display system increases the brightness level of the display within the field of view such that the brightness level is approximately inversely proportional to the field of view area.

Variable brightness and field of view display

A wearable heads-up display includes a power source, laser sources, and a lightguide. A photodetector is positioned to detect an intensity of a test light emitted at a perimeter of the lightguide from an optical path within the lightguide. A laser safety circuit provides a control to reduce or shut off a supply of electrical power from the power source to the laser sources in response to an output signal from the photodetector indicating that the detected intensity is below a threshold.

Wearable heads-up display with optical path fault detection

Systems, devices, and methods for eyebox expansion in wearable heads-up displays ('WHUDs') are described. The WHUDs described herein each include a projector and an optical waveguide positioned in an optical path between the projector and an eye of the user. For any given light signal from the projector, the optical waveguide receives the light signal at an input coupler and outputs multiple instances or copies of the light signal from multiple discrete, spatially-separated output couplers. The multiple instances or copies of the light signal may be converged by the optical waveguide directly to respective exit pupils at the user's eye or may be routed by the optical waveguide to a holographic combiner in the user's field of view from which the light signals may be converged to respective exit pupils at the user's eye. The optical waveguide employs exit pupil replication to expand the eyebox of the WHUD.

Systems, devices, and methods for waveguide-based eyebox expansion in wearable heads-up displays

Improved systems ensuring an accuracy of eye gaze measurements in an augmented reality head-mounted wearable device include a radiation direction rerouter (e.g., a partial retroreflector) configured to adjust an angle of incidence of the radiation in the waveguide at a first surface of a waveguide to produce radiation directed at an adjusted angle of incidence at an outcoupler such that the output direction is essentially parallel to the gaze angle of the user's eye. For example, a partial retroreflector may be disposed on a surface of the waveguide opposite the outcoupler provides an additional reflection so that the gaze angle of the user's eye is matched to an angle of an image of the eye pupil onto a world-facing radiation detector (e.g., a camera).

Passive world-referenced eye tracking for smartglasses

There is provided a method of operating a wearable heads-up display (WHUD). The WHUD may include a light source, a spatial modulator, and a display optic. The method may include generating, by the light source, an output light to form an image viewable by a user of the WHUD. The method may also include receiving a position of a pupil of the user relative to an eyebox of the WHUD, and obtaining an image correction map based on the position of the pupil. Moreover, the method may include adjusting the output light to form an adjusted output light. The adjusted output light may be adjusted based on the image correction map to reduce at least one of an intensity non-uniformity and a color balance non-uniformity of the image. The method may also include directing, by the display optic, the adjusted output light into a field of view of the user.

Displays and methods of operating thereof

Systems and methods to reduce light loss from a waveguide. The system includes a waveguide having an incoupler to direct light into the waveguide and a laser projector having laser diodes mounted to a substrate. The laser projector is configured to provide a plurality of laser light beams to the incoupler of the waveguide. The system further includes at least one alignment component configured to align the plurality of laser light beams tangent with an edge of the incoupler to minimize light lost from the waveguide through contact with the incoupler more than once.

Systems and methods to reduce bounce spacing and double-bounce in waveguides

An optical combiner includes a lightguide having an input region, an output region, a relay region intermediate between the input region and the output region, and one or more stress raisers positioned to define a line of weakness in the lightguide. The line of weakness is intermediate between the input region and the output region and extends across the relay region. An in-coupler is disposed at the input region to receive an incident light with a field of view and couple the incident light into the lightguide. An out-coupler is disposed at the output region to couple light out of the lightguide. The optical combiner may be integrated with one or more lenses for use as a combiner lens in a wearable heads-up display.

Optical combiner and combiner lens with lightguide failure mitigation mechanism

There is provided a method of operating a wearable heads-up display (WHUD), which method includes generating first and second lights having respectively first and second wavelengths within about 50 nm of one another. The method also includes directing the first and second lights onto an incoupler of a display optic of the WHUD along first and second ranges of input angles respectively. The first and second ranges of input angles correspond to positions of pixels of first and second portions of an image to be displayed by the WHUD. The incoupler has first and second angular bandwidths corresponding to the first and second wavelengths respectively. A combination of the first and second ranges of input angles is larger than each of the first and second angular bandwidths. Moreover, the method includes directing the first and second lights into a field of view of a user to form the image.

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Toronto, Canada

Timothy Paul Bodiya