Abstract: Tooling and optic elements for a retro-imaging system may be formed on order near atomic level of accuracy by making use of either etching or growth techniques of a cubic crystal lattice, such as silicon. The elements may be formed directly using selective etching or epitaxial growth by coating and clear resin lamination, or replicated to avoid shrinkage and curvature by use of low shrinkage resins or double-fill molding techniques. Through the use of these highly accurate reflection/diffraction elements, floating images may be formed with relatively high resolution in retro-reflective imaging systems, for example.

Abstract: A display includes a cover having a front face that defines a normal of the display and further having a sidewall that meets the front face to define an edge of the display, and a display module disposed behind the cover. The display module includes a substrate and a plurality of pixels supported by the substrate. The substrate includes a curved portion along the edge, the curved portion bending rearward such that peripheral pixels of the plurality of pixels are disposed laterally between the substrate and the sidewall. The display further includes edge compensation means for compensating for a curvature of the curved portion to direct light from the peripheral pixels toward the normal of the display. An extent to which the edge compensation means compensates for the curvature varies in accordance with lateral position of the peripheral pixels along the curved portion.

Abstract: A display includes a cover having a front face that defines a normal of the display and further having a sidewall that meets the front face to define an edge of the display, and a display module disposed behind the cover. The display module includes a substrate and a plurality of pixels supported by the substrate. The substrate includes a curved portion along the edge, the curved portion bending rearward such that peripheral pixels of the plurality of pixels are disposed laterally between the substrate and the sidewall. The display further includes edge compensation means for compensating for a curvature of the curved portion to direct light from the peripheral pixels toward the normal of the display. An extent to which the edge compensation means compensates for the curvature varies in accordance with lateral position of the peripheral pixels along the curved portion.

Abstract: Example embodiments simultaneously acquire multiple different focus state images for a scene at a video rate. The focus state images are acquired from a static arrangement of static optical elements. The focus state images are suitable for and sufficient for determining the depth of an object in the scene using depth from defocus (DFD) processing. The depth of the object in the scene is determined from the focus state images using DFD processing. The static optical elements may be off-the-shelf components that are used without modification. The static elements may include image sensors aligned to a common optical path, a beam splitter in the common optical path, and telecentric lenses that correct light in multiple optical paths produced by the beam splitter. The multiple optical paths may differ by a defocus delta. Simultaneous acquisition of the multiple focus state images facilitates mitigating motion blur associated with conventional DFD processing.

Abstract: Polarization state in retro-reflective arrays may be controlled throughout the optical path of a retro-reflective retro-imaging setup to enhance system efficiency. A polarization beam splitter layer and a retarder layer placed in front of the retro-reflector array may be oriented such that polarized light is used as source, source input light is efficiently reflected at the polarization beam splitter layer toward the retro-reflective layer, and polarization is converted to circular upon first pass through retarder layer. The polarization may also be oriented at or near 45° with respect to input polarization state, light may be retro-reflected and reconverged at the retro-reflective layer, and converted to linear polarization state. The light may then be rotated about 90° with respect to input linear state, and/or passed through the polarization beam splitter layer upon second pass to form the reconvergent image.

Abstract: A flat illuminator having substantially reduced or no diffractive artifacts may be realized by using a partially reflective, embedded layer of extraction features, such as partially reflective facets or partially reflective bumpy surface, buried with substantially matching refractive index on both sides of layer. Implementations may be used in creating infrared (IR) illumination, either as a frontlight unit (FLU) or backlight unit (BLU), as well as for supporting a floating image of IR illumination in a retroreflective, reconvergent imaging or a retroimaging application.

Abstract: Tooling and optic elements for a retro-imaging system may be formed on order near atomic level of accuracy by making use of either etching or growth techniques of a cubic crystal lattice, such as silicon. The elements may be formed directly using selective etching or epitaxial growth by coating and clear resin lamination, or replicated to avoid shrinkage and curvature by use of low shrinkage resins or double-fill molding techniques. Through the use of these highly accurate reflection/diffraction elements, floating images may be formed with relatively high resolution in retro-reflective imaging systems, for example.

Abstract: Interactive sensing in retro-reflective imaging systems may be enabled through auto-alignment of an infrared (IR) illumination region with a floating image region by transmitting IR light, added on or within a display, through the same optical path as the visible floating image light. The IR illumination at the display may be either a flood of light or structured light. In some implementations, stereo vision based imaging techniques may be employed in conjunction with an auto-aligned IR floating image to provide illumination for a stereo imaging system and to provide position sensing for interaction.

Abstract: Tooling and optic elements for a retro-imaging system may be formed on order near atomic level of accuracy by making use of either etching or growth techniques of a cubic crystal lattice, such as silicon. The elements may be formed directly using selective etching or epitaxial growth by coating and clear resin lamination, or replicated to avoid shrinkage and curvature by use of low shrinkage resins or double-fill molding techniques. Through the use of these highly accurate reflection/diffraction elements, floating images may be formed with relatively high resolution in retro-reflective imaging systems, for example.

Abstract: Example embodiments simultaneously acquire multiple different focus state images for a scene at a video rate. The focus state images are acquired from a static arrangement of static optical elements. The focus state images are suitable for and sufficient for determining the depth of an object in the scene using depth from defocus (DFD) processing. The depth of the object in the scene is determined from the focus state images using DFD processing. The static optical elements may be off-the-shelf components that are used without modification. The static elements may include image sensors aligned to a common optical path, a beam splitter in the common optical path, and telecentric lenses that correct light in multiple optical paths produced by the beam splitter. The multiple optical paths may differ by a defocus delta. Simultaneous acquisition of the multiple focus state images facilitates mitigating motion blur associated with conventional DFD processing.

Abstract: Embodiments are disclosed that relate to hover detection in interactive display devices. One embodiment provides an interactive display device comprising a display panel configured to display an image on an interactive surface, an imaging optical wedge disposed adjacent to the display panel, an image sensor configured to capture an image of an object located in front of the interactive surface and spaced from the interactive surface by capturing the image through the imaging optical wedge, a logic subsystem, and a data-holding subsystem comprising instructions executable by the logic subsystem to operate the display panel and the image sensor, and to detect a hover input based upon one or more images received from the image sensor.

Abstract: A computational image processing filter processes an image from a wedge-based imaging system so as to remove artifacts such as blurring and ghost images. By removing the artifacts computationally instead of optically, manufacturing costs and complexity are reduced over prior solutions. In one implementation, the computational image processing filter performs a two-dimensional transform to align a ghost image with a pixel grid defined by the wedge. The transformed image is then stretched using a nonlinear transform to make the ghost pitch versus position a constant. Next, an anti-ghost point spread filter is created and deconvolved. Finally, an inverse of the nonlinear mapping is applied. Artifacts introduced by other optical layers can be reduced by deconvolving the artifact from the image according to a point-spread function representing an effect of the optical layers on the image.

Abstract: A wedge imager and techniques of imaging with a wedge imager are disclosed. In one embodiment, a wedge image comprises: a simple wedge comprising substantially opposing flat faces; a multi-camera and/or optical system to capture light input into the wedge—which is then partitioned into at least two parities of image content. In another embodiment, image processing techniques are disclosed to correct distortion of each parity image content and merge or ‘stitch’ the two parities together to form a single image of the object input surface of the shim wedge. In another embodiment, in order to limit extreme high-FOV (field-of-view) requirements, multiple laterally-neighboring narrow sub-sections may be captured by use of an array of the dual-image sensors and imaging optics, along a single end of the wedge.

Abstract: Tooling and optic elements for a retro-imaging system may be formed on order near atomic level of accuracy by making use of either etching or growth techniques of a cubic crystal lattice, such as silicon. The elements may be formed directly using selective etching or epitaxial growth by coating and clear resin lamination, or replicated to avoid shrinkage and curvature by use of low shrinkage resins or double-fill molding techniques. Through the use of these highly accurate reflection/diffraction elements, floating images may be formed with relatively high resolution in retro-reflective imaging systems, for example.

Abstract: Interactive sensing in retro-reflective imaging systems may be enabled through auto-alignment of an infrared (IR) illumination region with a floating image region by transmitting IR light, added on or within a display, through the same optical path as the visible floating image light. The IR illumination at the display may be either a flood of light or structured light. In some implementations, stereo vision based imaging techniques may be employed in conjunction with an auto-aligned IR floating image to provide illumination for a stereo imaging system and to provide position sensing for interaction.

Abstract: A flat illuminator having substantially reduced or no diffractive artifacts may be realized by using a partially reflective, embedded layer of extraction features, such as partially reflective facets or partially reflective bumpy surface, buried with substantially matching refractive index on both sides of layer. Implementations may be used in creating infrared (IR) illumination, either as a frontlight unit (FLU) or backlight unit (BLU), as well as for supporting a floating image of IR illumination in a retroreflective, reconvergent imaging or a retroimaging application.

Abstract: Polarization state in retro-reflective arrays may be controlled throughout the optical path of a retro-reflective retro-imaging setup to enhance system efficiency. A polarization beam splitter layer and a retarder layer placed in front of the retro-reflector array may be oriented such that polarized light is used as source, source input light is efficiently reflected at the polarization beam splitter layer toward the retro-reflective layer, and polarization is converted to circular upon first pass through retarder layer. The polarization may also be oriented at or near 45° with respect to input polarization state, light may be retro-reflected and reconverged at the retro-reflective layer, and converted to linear polarization state. The light may then be rotated about 90° with respect to input linear state, and/or passed through the polarization beam splitter layer upon second pass to form the reconvergent image.

Abstract: A touch sensing liquid crystal display is made with a stack of layers that has controlled or low birefringence. The final layers of the output of the touch sensing liquid crystal display circularly polarize the output light. The combination of low birefringence and circularly polarized output light provides a touch sensing LCD that can be viewed from many angles with low visible artifacts, even through linear polarizing objects, such as sunglasses.

Abstract: A display system configured for multi-touch input is provided. The display system comprises a display surface, a local light source to illuminate the display surface with infrared light, and an image-producing display panel. The image-producing display panel comprises a plurality of image sensor pixels positioned within a sensor layer of the image-producing display panel. The image-producing display panel further comprises an angularly-selective layer positioned between the display surface and the sensor layer, wherein the angularly-selective layer is configured to transmit light having a first range of incidence angles with the surface normal of the angularly-selective layer to a first sensor pixel of sensor layer, and to reflect light having a second range of incidence angles from a second sensor pixel of the sensor layer, where the second range is greater than the first range of incidence angles with respect to a surface normal of the sensor layer.

Abstract: A wedge imager and techniques of imaging with a wedge imager are disclosed. In one embodiment, a wedge image comprises: a simple wedge comprising substantially opposing flat faces; a multi-camera and/or optical system to capture light input into the wedge—which is then partitioned into at least two parities of image content. In another embodiment, image processing techniques are disclosed to correct distortion of each parity image content and merge or ‘stitch’ the two parities together to form a single image of the object input surface of the shim wedge. In another embodiment, in order to limit extreme high-FOV (field-of-view) requirements, multiple laterally-neighboring narrow sub-sections may be captured by use of an array of the dual-image sensors and imaging optics, along a single end of the wedge.