Abstract: Point to point transmission holograms are used to provide a scene camera for an augmented reality glasses display system. A glass or plastic substrate acts as spectacle style lens. A holographic medium is applied to a surface of the substrate, within which is recorded a series of point to point transmission holograms. The construction points of the holograms are arranged at the eye and at the pupil of a camera placed, ideally, to the temple side of the user's eye. The recorded transmission holograms act by diffracting a portion of the light from the scene surrounding the user that is heading for the user's eye towards the scene camera. The hologram efficiency is balanced so that the user is still able to see the surrounding scene. The perspective of the view seen by the scene camera is substantially identical to that seen by the user through the lens.

Abstract: Point to point transmission holograms are used to provide a scene camera for an augmented reality glasses display system. A glass or plastic substrate acts as spectacle style lens. A holographic medium is applied to a surface of the substrate, within which is recorded a series of point to point transmission holograms. The construction points of the holograms are arranged at the eye and at the pupil of a camera placed, ideally, to the temple side of the user's eye. The recorded transmission holograms act by diffracting a portion of the light from the scene surrounding the user that is heading for the user's eye towards the scene camera. The hologram efficiency is balanced so that the user is still able to see the surrounding scene. The perspective of the view seen by the scene camera is substantially identical to that seen by the user through the lens.

Abstract: An image projection system utilising a digital mirror device with pivotable mirrors and an asymmetric angular illumination of the mirrors.

Abstract: A waveguide structure for a head up display in which a reflective output coupling structure is formed of a separate, but connected, component to a main waveguide. Light is coupled from the main waveguide to the output coupling structure by evanescent wave coupling. In a method of manufacture for such a waveguide the output coupling structure is attached to the main waveguide using an optical feedback technique.

Abstract: Point to point transmission holograms are used to provide a scene camera for an augmented reality glasses display system. A glass or plastic substrate acts as spectacle style lens. A holographic medium is applied to a surface of the substrate, within which is recorded a series of point to point transmission holograms. The construction points of the holograms are arranged at the eye and at the pupil of a camera placed, ideally, to the temple side of the user's eye. The recorded transmission holograms act by diffracting a portion of the light from the scene surrounding the user that is heading for the user's eye towards the scene camera. The hologram efficiency is balanced so that the user is still able to see the surrounding scene. The perspective of the view seen by the scene camera is substantially identical to that seen by the user through the lens.

Abstract: An image projection system utilising a digital mirror device with pivotable mirrors and an asymmetric angular illumination of the mirrors.

Abstract: Point to point transmission holograms are used to provide a scene camera for an augmented reality glasses display system. A glass or plastic substrate acts as spectacle style lens. A holographic medium is applied to a surface of the substrate, within which is recorded a series of point to point transmission holograms. The construction points of the holograms are arranged at the eye and at the pupil of a camera placed, ideally, to the temple side of the user's eye. The recorded transmission holograms act by diffracting a portion of the light from the scene surrounding the user that is heading for the user's eye towards the scene camera. The hologram efficiency is balanced so that the user is still able to see the surrounding scene. The perspective of the view seen by the scene camera is substantially identical to that seen by the user through the lens.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for producing an optical display comprising an optical waveguide including a first diffractive part arranged to receive display light and to diffract the display light into an angle for guided propagation along the optical waveguide. A second diffractive part of the waveguide is optically coupled to the first diffractive part by the optical waveguide and is arranged to receive and to diffract light from the first diffractive part to an angle for output from the optical waveguide. Those external surfaces of the waveguide against which guided light reflects internally are coated with a meta-material having a refractive index of value less than 1.0 (one).

Abstract: An optical system for a colour head up display, the optical system being for guiding image light from an image projection system to an exit pupil. First and second waveguides are utilised, each waveguide guiding a predetermined set of wavelengths.

Abstract: A waveguide structure for a head up display in which a reflective output coupling structure is formed of a separate, but connected, component to a main waveguide. In a method of manufacture for such a waveguide the output coupling structure may be formed by depositing a material on a main waveguide, impressing the reflective structure into that material, and curing the material.

Abstract: A binocular display device comprising two ocular assemblies (1A, 1B) to be worn by a user concurrently with one respective ocular assembly at each eye. Each ocular assembly comprises an outer optical part having a positive optical strength (2A, 2B), an inner optical part (4A, 4B) having a negative optical strength and a transparent slab waveguide display part (3A, 3B) in between them. Substantially collimated display light is output from the waveguide for display, and external light of an external scene is transmitted through the waveguide from the outer optical part for viewing concurrently with the display light. The inner optical part imposes a divergence on the received display light to generate a virtual focal point (f) substantially common to each ocular assembly. In use, an image conveyed by the display light is superimposed on the external scene as a three-dimensional (3D) image when viewed through the binocular display device.

Abstract: The invention relates to a display device for displaying an image over a field of view. The device comprises: an optical arrangement for directing image bearing light from an image source so that the light has rays at a range of angles relative to an injection axis; and an optical waveguide having an input grating for diffracting into the waveguide said light over said range of angles such that all of the diffracted light is totally internally reflected within the waveguide and so that image bearing light output from the waveguide has a field of view corresponding to said range of angles, wherein the input grating is a surface relief grating having a profiled reflective surface and at least one layer of dielectric material conforming to the surface for diffracting light over said range of angles into the waveguide.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a waveguide for a display apparatus comprising providing a planar optical waveguide part (20), depositing upon the optical waveguide part a fluid material (11) curable to form an optically transparent solid, impressing (30) upon the fluid material an impression defining an input diffraction grating region, an intermediate diffraction grating region and an output diffraction grating region wherein the fluid material of the intermediate diffraction grating region is continuous with the fluid material of at least the input diffraction grating region, curing (45) the impressed fluid material to solidify said impression. The physical location of the input diffraction grating is located wholly within the geographical area of the intermediate grating, and the grating vectors of the input diffraction grating and the intermediate diffraction grating are oriented in different respective directions.

Abstract: An optical method of displaying an expanded color image comprising extracting from input light bearing said colored image a first spectral portion and a second spectral portion such that together the two portions contain sufficient information for the image to be displayed in substantially its original colors, separately expanding the two spectral portions each in two dimensions and recombining the expanded spectral portions to display the expanded color image.

Abstract: An optical component for a display apparatus comprises an optical waveguide part (11) arranged to guide light therealong between surface parts thereof by internal reflection, an input part (13) arranged to receive light and direct the received light into the optical waveguide part, and an output part comprising a partially transmissive angularly reflective optical coating (25) arranged upon a surface part of the optical waveguide part. The output part is optically coupled to the input part by the optical waveguide part to receive guided light and to transmit some but not all of said guided light out from the optical waveguide part. The angularly reflective optical coating extends along a dimension of the optical waveguide part to expand the guided light in said dimension along the output part by repeated partial transmission thereof for output.

Abstract: A waveguide for a display apparatus comprising a planar optical waveguide part (20) for guiding light to be displayed, an input diffraction grating (21) to diffract received light (7) along the optical waveguide part for guiding thereby, an intermediate diffraction grating (22) to receive diffracted light from the input diffraction grating and to expand the received light in a first dimension by diffraction (8), and an output diffraction grating (23) to receive the expanded light and to output the received expanded light (10) from the optical waveguide part by diffraction for display. The input diffraction grating is positioned so as to be located wholly within the geographical area of the intermediate grating, and the grating vectors of the input diffraction grating and the intermediate diffraction grating are oriented in different respective directions.

Abstract: A display apparatus is described that comprises an optical ocular part (3) arranged for viewing a scene therethrough, and a waveguide display part (6) arranged for guiding image-bearing light to a transparent display output area (16) thereof and thereat displaying the image. The ocular part and/or the waveguide display part are positioned, or are arranged to be positioned, mutually in register for viewing simultaneously the scene with the displayed image incorporated in it, through the transparent display output area. A focuser part (17) positioned in register with the display output area focuses simultaneously the scene and the incorporated image for focused viewing by a user (13).

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for producing an optical display comprising an optical waveguide (1) and a pair (10, 16) of switchable diffraction gratings that are switchable between a diffractive state and a non-diffractive state. A pair of non-switchable diffraction gratings (2, 14) is arranged to receive diffract light from one switchable grating for guided propagation along the optical waveguide and out to the other switchable grating for viewing. The pair of non-switchable gratings are tuned to a first operating wavelength of light, while the pair of switchable gratings are tuned to a different operating wavelength of light to diffract that light into/from a field of view in common with that of the non-switchable gratings such that light of two wavelengths occupies the same field of view.

Abstract: A head-mounted or helmet-mounted display apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an optical element which in use is disposed in front of the eyes of a user. The optical element comprises a waveguide portion. The apparatus further includes a first light source and a second light source of image-bearing light. The apparatus further includes first diffraction element for propagation of image-bearing light of the first light source through the optical element. The apparatus further includes a second diffraction element for propagation of image-bearing light of the second light source through the optical element. The first light source and the second light source is disposed such that relative angular movement of the first light source and the second light source about an axis of symmetry of the optical element adjusts the inter-pupillary spacing of a first visible image and a second visible image presented to a respective eye of a user.

Abstract: A head-mounted or helmet-mounted display apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an optical element which in use is disposed in front of the eyes of a user. The optical element has a waveguide portion. The apparatus further includes a light source of image-bearing light and two diffraction elements. Each diffraction element is configured for propagation of image-bearing light of the light source through the optical element. Each diffraction element is arranged to release the image bearing light from the optical element. The apparatus further includes a switching element for switching the image-bearing light repeatedly between the first diffraction element and the second diffraction element to provide a first visible image or a second visible image to the respective eye of a user.