Automated Measurement/Alignment of Immersive Visual Displays

Complexity of immersive displays continues to grow and so does required setup and calibration. A myriad of measurements and adjustments must be performed to verify compliance of systems and components to specifications. Routine system maintenance sometimes necessitates less involved system alignment to minimize system down-time. Traditionally, a number of instruments are used. Transits may be used to verify absolute locations of display imagery with respect to design specifications. Luminance meters may be used to measure colorimetry for channel matching and edge blending. Large amounts of manual setup, measurement, and interpretation, followed by manual and/or computer based calculations provide feedback to the image source to correct parameters. Advances in amateur telescopes during the 1990s yielded computer controlled pointing devices with tracking precision accuracy on the order of arc-seconds. Coupled with a calibrated video camera, a precision measurement and feedback device for verification and auto-alignment of complex display parameters can be developed. The proper mix of COTS components, adaptable mounting hardware, and computer control software, will produce an effective device which minimizes setup time, labor, and costs. With open format data interface, the system becomes a tool which any display system or image generator (IG) vendor can take advantage of.