Dynamic expansion of viewing zones in light field displays using an angular-aligned lens array and adaptive eye-tracking module for beam steering

초록

We propose an advanced light field display system that dynamically expands the effective viewing zone by integrating an angular-aligned lens array (AALA), a compact electro-dynamic micro beam deflector (mu BD), and a deep learning-based adaptive eye-tracking (AET) module. By steering light toward selectively activated segments of the AALA based on the observer's position, the system significantly broadens the horizontal field-of-view (FoV) while maintaining high three-dimensional (3D) image fidelity. To achieve this functionality, a miniaturized mu BD is custom-designed for real-time beam steering, and the AET module is optimized for fast and accurate lateral eye-tracking. As the observer moves laterally, the system adaptively directs the appropriate pre-generated elemental image array (EIA) to the corresponding AALA segment, enabling continuous and seamless 3D visualization across the extended FoV. The viewing zones of the proposed system are carefully designed to prevent overlapping between reconstructed images in adjacent zones. In particular, in the dynamically switched viewpoint state, the proposed system is designed such that non-diffracted ray noise, originating from the beam steering efficiency limits of the mu BD, is sufficiently suppressed from the observer's switched pupil position in the side viewing zones. Experimental results demonstrate that this architecture provides a scalable and effective solution for overcoming the inherent FoV limitations of conventional light field displays.

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