SBIR-STTR Award

This Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using specially modified contact lenses combined with an LCD display illuminated with a wave-guided backlight to enable an 80 degree field of view see-through display. The new eyewear architecture being proposed is a radical departure from traditional near eye displays. Rather than present the eye with collimated rays of light that appear to originate from a distant source, the performance of the eye is enhanced by sophisticated contact lenses to enable short focal length accommodation of non-collimated light rays. The special contact lenses add one additional focal accommodation distance to the wearer’s normal vision. This is done with no impact to the wearer’s normal sight other than a slight attenuation of ambient brightness. The result is that the eye is able to observe the near-eye imagery over its full field of view while simultaneously observing the surrounding environment. This eliminates all of the imaging optics from the eyewear resulting in a see-thru display panel that can be bonded directly to standard ballistic eyewear. The proposed Phase 1 research will demonstrate the ability to view see-through monochromatic near eye imagery over an 80 degree field of view.

Keywords:
Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Head Worn Display, See-Through Display, Contact Lens Display, Video Eyewear, Head Mounted Display, Wave-Guided Back-Light

This Phase II SBIR project will develop a full color, 720P, wide field of view (90 degrees ), see-through head mounted display (HMD) prototype based on Innovega"s eyeborne optic concept. This new eyewear architecture is a radical departure from traditional near eye displays. Rather than presenting the eye with collimated rays of light that appear to originate from a distant source, the performance of the eye is enhanced by sophisticated contact lenses to enable short focal length accommodation of non-collimated light rays. The special contact lenses add one additional focal accommodation distance to the wearer"s normal vision. This is done with no impact to the wearer"s normal sight other than a slight attenuation of ambient brightness. The result is that the eye is able to observe the near-eye imagery over its full field of view while simultaneously observing the surrounding environment. This eliminates all imaging optics from the eyewear resulting in a compact see-thru display. The HMD prototype will utilize an LCOS projector module to create an image directly onto the HMD spectacle lenses. In addition to making the LCOS projection HMD, research will be put into developing improved nano-wire polarizer and spectral filter fabrication processes for integration into contact lenses.