See-Through Enabled Efficient Adaptively-Focused Lightweight Low-Cost Head-Worn Display

To address the Navy PMTRASYS need, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop the new See-Through Enabled Efficient Adaptively Focused Lightweight Low-Cost Head-Worn Display (SEEALL-HWD) based on free-form imaging optics coupled to a waveguide with a broadband see-through decoupling hologram and liquid-crystal (LC) active lens for providing virtual imagery at the correct focal depth for real-world vergence. The augmented reality imagery is made possible through the tiling of two microdisplays to provide high visual acuity with POC-developed microdisplay tiling techniques. A custom POC backlight using dimmable LED matrices provides the high dynamic range and is coupled to a low profile waveguide using high-efficiency, free-form plastic optics and is subsequently inserted into the user"s FOV using an efficient broadband hologram. In Phase I, POC plans to study the technical feasibility, provide the technology roadmap and system design concept, and demonstrate the feasibility of the SEEALL HWD system for an enhanced performance optical see-through HWD with low cost and high performance to superimpose computer generated information in the real world. In Phase II, we anticipate building and demonstrating the first prototype in a laboratory environment, showing robustness in size, weight, and power requirements that are sufficient for training applications.