SBIR-STTR Award

PhaseSpace proposes a 2 to 4 megapixel foveated head mounted display (HMD) with an apparent resolution of up to 18 megapixels per eye. Using state of the art HDTV projection display technology developed for business projectors and cell phone pico projectors, PhaseSpace will create a custom see-through HMD solution that can be used indoors and outdoors. This HMD will stimulate peripheral vision with a wide viewing angle of 140 x 40 degrees for both eyes. The see-through beamsplitting reflective goggles will provide a high resolution image for viewing augmented reality characters superimposed over the natural view. PhaseSpace intends to dual purpose the proposed optical design for a lower resolution (apparent resolution of 3.6 megapixels using 4 low cost 800 x 500 pixel displays) commercial system that will sell for under $5,000 per unit. These units are possible due to recent improvements in high resolution display devices, increased brightness LED breakthroughs, and increased integration of display controllers. 0xA0

Benefit:
Low Cost high performance Head mounted Displays will enable affordable telerobotics, medical training and collaborative reality, allowing a remote expert to guide the local repairman to fix complex equipment.

Keywords:
Head Mounted Displays, Head Mounted Displays, pico projectors, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality

For this Phase 2 effort related to STTR Topic N09-T031, PhaseSpace proposes building an HMD system using pico-projectors and reflective transparent lenses. The system will be low-cost, but the improved field-of-view (improved compared to current state-of-the-art) will provide a higher quality immersive experience than systems currently on the market. PhaseSpace has already developed prototypes of many of the system components, and demonstrated the wide angle for the HMD Field-of-View.

Benefit:
A low-cost HMD system which provides an unprecedented quality of experience made possible by the wider FOV PhaseSpace has implemented, will be sought-after by the gaming industry and any computerized training or entertainment provider. This system will enhance training in the miitary by augmenting and improving the immersive training experience. Many commercial entities have already expressed interest in this product, as have university resarchers.

Keywords:
Augmented Reality, HMD, HEAD MOUNTED DISPLAY, Immersive Training Environment, Simulation Training