The perpetual mission for thinner, lighter and more compact virtual truth (VR) and enhanced truth (AR) gadgets mostly begins with display innovation. From loading more pixels per inch (PPI) into screens to streamlining and simplifying the optics, it isn’t a simple procedure however Standford University researchers in combination with NVIDIA have actually just recently showcased their most current task called Holographic Glasses.
Most of a VR headset’s bulk originates from the range in between its magnifying eyepiece and the display panel, folding the light in as brief an area as possible whilst preserving quality and without distortion. Hence why most VR gadgets use Fresnel lenses as they off an excellent compromise in between optic weight and light refraction.
As part of SIGGRAPH 2022 which occurs this summer season, NVIDIA and Stanford University have actually revealed their most current research study, glasses that produce 3D holographic images from a display simply 2.5 millimetres thick. Even thinner than pancake lenses, to make this possible the: “Holographic Glasses are composed of a pupil-replicating waveguide, a spatial light modulator (SLM), and a geometric phase lens” to produce the holographic images.
The SLM is able to produce holograms right in front of the user’s eyes hence getting rid of the requirement for that space more conventional VR optics need to produce an appropriate image. While the pupil-replicating waveguide and the geometric stage lens assistance even more lower the setup depth. To produce a result that appropriately integrated display quality and display size the researchers used an AI- powered algorithm to co-design the optics.

All of this inside a kind element that just weighs 60g.
As these are still early research study models this kind of innovation is still years far from release (or possibly never ever) with pancake lenses the next significant action for the majority of VR headsets. It has actually been rumoured that Meta’s upcoming Project Cambria will make use of pancake optics to offer it a slimmer profile.
This isn’t the only VR cooperation in between Stanford and NVIDIA for SIGGRAPH 2022, they’re likewise dealing with a paper taking a look at a “computer-generated holography framework that improves image quality while optimizing bandwidth usage.” For continued updates on the most recent VR advancements, keep reading gmw3