Methods, Systems, and Computer Program Products for Full Spectrum Projection

• US 20090009723A1
• Filed: 07/18/2005
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chapel Hill-University of North Carolina
• Original Assignee: Chapel Hill-University of North Carolina
• Inventors: McMillan, Leonard, Keller, Kurtis P., Fuchs, Henry
• Granted Patent: US 8,152,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 353/31
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0833 the reflecting element being a micromechanical device, e.g. a MEMS mirror, DMD G02B26/0825 takes precedence; micromechanical devices in general B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/1033 having a single light modulator for all colour channels
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/1086 operating by diffraction only
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/126 The splitting element being a prism or prismatic array, including systems based on total internal reflection

Abstract

A broadband electromagnetic wave beam is projected from a broadband wave source (301). The wave beam is separated by an element (306) into narrowband wavelength beams. The narrowband beams are directed across a predetermined area (312). A narrowband wavelength beam corresponding to a desired pixel wavelength is selected and displayed on a display surface (318).

Claims

1. A method for full spectrum projection comprising:

(a) projecting a broadband electromagnetic wave beam from a broadband electromagnetic wave source;

(b) separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams;

(c) directing the narrowband-wavelength beams across a predetermined area; and

(d) selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam corresponding to a desired pixel wavelength and displaying the desired pixel wavelength at a first pixel on a display surface.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein projecting a broadband electromagnetic wave beam includes projecting a white light beam.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam includes separating the broadband electromagnetic beam into narrowband-wavelength beams having wavelengths ranging from about 390 nanometers to about 780 nanometers.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein projecting a broadband electromagnetic wave beam includes projecting a beam having at least one of near infrared, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams includes passing the broadband electromagnetic wave beam through a prism.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams includes passing the broadband electromagnetic wave beam through a variable dichroic filter.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams includes passing the broadband electromagnetic wave beam through a diffraction grating.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams includes passing the broadband electromagnetic wave beam through a variable color holographic filter.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein directing the narrowband-wavelength beams across a predetermined area includes sweeping the narrowband-wavelength beams across a digital micromirror device using a multifaceted, rotating mirror.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein directing the narrowband-wavelength beams across a predetermined area includes individually pulsing the narrowband-wavelength beams onto the surface of a digital micromirror device (DMD).

11. The method of claim 1 wherein directing the narrowband wavelength beams across a predetermined area includes directing the narrowband wavelength beams across the surface of a digital micromirror device (DMD) so that each pixel sees at least one visible light spectrum of colors during a frame display time and wherein selecting a narrowband wavelength beam corresponding to a desired pixel color includes reflecting the narrowband-wavelength beam corresponding to the desired pixel color in response to the narrowband-wavelength beam impacting a mirror of a digital micromirror device (DMD).

12. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam includes selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam using a digital micromirror (DMD) device.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam includes selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam using a light transmissive liquid crystal display (LCD).

14. The method of claim 1 wherein each narrowband-wavelength beam has a bandwidth on the order of no more than about 25 nanometers.

15. The method of claim 1 comprising repeating steps (a)-(d) to produce a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams on a computer graphic display surface.

16. The method of claim 1 comprising directing a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams into a scene to achieve narrowband-wavelength lighting.

17. The method of claim 1 comprising projecting a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams onto a projection display surface.

18. The method of claim 1 comprising projecting a plurality of narrowband-wavelength electromagnetic beams onto the display surface to simulate an object being tracked and using the projected beams to calibrate electromagnetic tracking equipment.

19. The method of claim 1 comprising varying a perceived color of the first pixel by adjusting the intensity of the narrowband wavelength beam.

20. The method of claim 1 comprising varying a perceived color of the first pixel by adjusting the intensity of at least one narrowband-wavelength beam corresponding to at least one second pixel near the first pixel.

21. A method for imperceptibly embedding a structured light image in a projected color image using a full spectrum projector, the method comprising:

(a) determining a color to be displayed for a pixel in a color image;

(b) determining a value of a structured light pattern to be encoded for a pixel position;

(c) using a full spectrum projector to imperceptibly encode the value at the pixel position; and

(d) detecting the encoded value using a wavelength-selective detector.

22. A system for full spectrum projection comprising:

(a) a broadband electromagnetic wave source for projecting a broadband electromagnetic wave beam;

(b) a separator for separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams;

(c) a beam director for directing the narrowband-wavelength beams across a predetermined area; and

(d) a beam selector for selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam corresponding to a desired pixel wavelength and directing the beam to a pixel position on a display surface.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the projector comprises a visible light projector.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the separator is adapted to separate visible light into narrowband-wavelength beams having wavelengths ranging from 390 nanometers to 780 nanometers.

25. The system of claim 22 wherein the projector is capable of projecting an electromagnetic wave beam having at least one of near infrared, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelength ranges.

26. The system of claim 22 wherein the separator comprises a prism.

27. The system of claim 22 wherein the separator comprises a variable dichroic filter.

28. The system of claim 22 wherein the separator comprises a diffraction grating.

29. The system of claim 22 wherein the separator comprises a variable color holographic filter.

30. The system of claim 22 wherein the beam director comprises a multifaceted mirror arranged to rotate about an axis.

31. The system of claim 22 wherein the beam director is arranged to emit individual pulses of narrowband light corresponding to the narrowband-wavelength beams.

32. The system of claim 22 wherein the beam selector comprises a digital micromirror device (DMD).

33. The system of claim 22 wherein the beam selector comprises a light transmissive liquid crystal display (LCD).

34. The system of claim 22 wherein each narrowband-wavelength beam has a bandwidth on the order of no more than about 25 nanometers.

35. The system of claim 22 wherein the beam director and the beam selector are adapted to generate a plurality of individual wavelength pixels for a computer graphics application.

36. The system of claim 22 wherein the beam director and the beam selector or adapted to project a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams into a scene for a customized lighting application.

37. The system of claim 22 wherein the beam director and the beam selector are adapted to project a plurality of narrowband-wavelength pixels into a predetermined area to simulate an object being tracked by an electromagnetic wave tracking application.

38. The system of claim 22 wherein the beam director and the beam selector are adapted to project a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams onto a projection display surface.

39. A computer program product comprising computer executable instruction embodied in a computer readable medium for performing steps comprising:

(a) projecting a broadband electromagnetic wave beam from a broadband electromagnetic wave source;

(b) separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams;

(c) directing the narrowband-wavelength beams across a predetermined area; and

(d) selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam corresponding to a desired pixel wavelength and displaying the desired pixel wavelength on a display surface.

40. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein projecting a broadband electromagnetic wave beam includes projecting a white light beam.

41. The computer program product of claim 40 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam includes separating the broadband electromagnetic beam into narrowband-wavelength beams having wavelengths ranging from about 390 nanometers to about 780 nanometers.

42. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein projecting a broadband electromagnetic wave beam includes projecting a beam having at least one of near infrared, infrared, and ultraviolet wavelengths.

43. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams includes passing the broadband electromagnetic wave beam through a prism.

44. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams includes passing the broadband electromagnetic wave beam through a variable dichroic filter.

45. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams includes passing the broadband electromagnetic wave beam through a diffraction grating.

46. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein separating the broadband electromagnetic wave beam into narrowband-wavelength beams includes passing the broadband electromagnetic wave beam through a variable color holographic filter.

47. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein directing the narrowband-wavelength beams across a predetermined area includes sweeping the narrowband-wavelength beams across the predetermined area using a multifaceted, rotating mirror.

48. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam includes selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam using a digital micromirror device (DMD).

49. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam includes selecting a narrowband-wavelength beam using a light transmissive liquid crystal display (LCD).

50. The computer program product of claim 39 wherein each narrowband-wavelength beam has a frequency bandwidth on the order of no more than about 25 nanometers.

51. The computer program product of claim 39 comprising repeating steps (a)-(d) to produce a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams on a computer graphic display surface.

52. The computer program product of claim 39 comprising directing a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams into a scene to achieve narrowband-wavelength lighting.

53. The computer program product of claim 39 comprising directing a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams into a predetermined area to simulate an object being tracked by an electromagnetic wave tracking application.

54. The computer program product of claim 39 comprising projecting a plurality of narrowband-wavelength beams onto a projection display surface.

55. A computer program product comprising computer executable instruction embodied in a computer readable medium for performing steps comprising:

(a) determining a color to be displayed for a pixel in a color image;

(b) determining a value of a structured light pattern to be encoded for a pixel position;

(c) using a full spectrum projector to imperceptibly encode the value at the pixel position; and

(d) detecting the encoded value using a wavelength-selective detector.