Image processing of an incoming light field using a spatial light modulator

• US 8,570,634 B2
• Filed: 10/11/2007
• Issued: 10/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Original Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
• Inventors: Luebke, David Patrick, Heidrich, Wolfgang
• Primary Examiner(s): Martinez, Joseph P
• Application Number:
  US11/974,316
• Publication Number:
  US 20090097092A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,210 Days
• Field of Search: 359/237
• US Class Current: 359/237
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0093 with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking

Abstract

A method, computer-usable medium and a system for varying an incoming light field are disclosed. Embodiments provide mechanisms for performing image processing on an incoming light field using a spatial light modulator which is adjusted based upon characteristics of the incoming light field. The spatial light modulator may be positioned between the viewed scene and the eye, and therefore, may be semi-transparent. The image processing may consist of tone mapping, color enhancement, beautification, edge enhancement, spectral separation of colors, spectral separation of metamers, object emphasis, other image processing, or some combination thereof. Additionally, embodiments compensate for parallax errors by adjusting the spatial light modulator based upon the position of an observer with respect to the spatial light modulator. And further, embodiments may be incorporated into optical devices, wearable optical devices, windows, windshields, and the like, where the semi-transparent spatial light modulator adjusts the image before entering the eye.

Claims

1. A method of varying an incoming light field, said method comprising:

detecting said incoming light field using an optical sensor, said incoming light field comprising a plurality of spatial radiometric attributes and impinging on a semi-transparent spatial light modulator;

automatically determining a modulator setting for said spatial light modulator based upon said plurality of spatial radiometric attributes;

dynamically adjusting said spatial light modulator based upon said modulator setting to vary said incoming light field, wherein said spatial light modulator comprises a first region and a second region, and wherein said dynamically adjusting further comprises contemporaneously adjusting said first region differently from said second region to cause a different amount of light to pass through said first and second regions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of spatial radiometric attributes comprise respective radiance values associated with respective spatial locations.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said plurality of radiometric attributes comprise respective wavelength composition values associated with respective spatial locations.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a parallax error associated with said incoming light field; and

modifying said modulator setting based upon said parallax error, and wherein said dynamically adjusting comprises dynamically adjusting said spatial light modulator using said modified modulator setting to vary said incoming light field.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said determining said parallax error comprises:

tracking a feature of an observer of said incoming light field, wherein said feature is selected from a group consisting of a head and an eye of said observer; and

determining said parallax error based upon a position of said feature.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said adjusting said spatial light modulator comprises performing image processing on said incoming light field.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said image processing is selected from a group consisting of tone mapping, color enhancement, beautification, edge enhancement, spectral separation of colors, spectral separation of metamers, and object emphasis.

8. A computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein for causing a computer system to perform a method of varying an incoming light field, said method comprising:

detecting said incoming light field using an optical sensor, said incoming light field comprising a plurality of spatial radiometric attributes and impinging on a semi-transparent spatial light modulator;

automatically determining a modulator setting for said spatial light modulator based upon said plurality of spatial radiometric attributes;

dynamically adjusting said spatial light modulator based upon said modulator setting to vary said incoming light field, wherein said spatial light modulator comprises a first region and a second region, and wherein said dynamically adjusting further comprises contemporaneously adjusting said first region differently from said second region to cause a different amount of light to pass through said first and second regions.

9. The computer-usable medium of claim 8, wherein said plurality of spatial radiometric attributes comprise respective radiance values associated with respective spatial locations.

10. The computer-usable medium of claim 8, wherein said plurality of radiometric attributes comprise respective wavelength composition values associated with respective spatial locations.

11. The computer-usable medium of claim 8, wherein said method further comprises:

determining a parallax error associated with said incoming light field; and

modifying said modulator setting based upon said parallax error, and wherein said dynamically adjusting comprises dynamically adjusting said spatial light modulator using said modified modulator setting to vary said incoming light field.

12. The computer-usable medium of claim 11, wherein said determining said parallax error comprises:

tracking a feature of an observer of said incoming light field, wherein said feature is selected from a group consisting of a head and an eye of said observer; and

determining said parallax error based upon a position of said feature.

13. The computer-usable medium of claim 8, wherein said adjusting said spatial light modulator comprises performing image processing on said incoming light field, and wherein said image processing is selected from a group consisting of tone mapping, color enhancement, beautification, edge enhancement, spectral separation of colors, spectral separation of metamers, object emphasis.

14. A system for varying an incoming light field, said system comprising:

an optical sensor operable to detect said incoming light field, said incoming light field comprising a plurality of spatial radiometric attributes;

a first component coupled to said optical sensor and operable to automatically determine a modulator setting for a spatial light modulator based upon said plurality of spatial radiometric attributes; and

a semi-transparent spatial light modulator coupled to said component and operable to dynamically vary said incoming light field based upon said modulator setting, wherein said incoming light field impinges upon said spatial light modulator, wherein said spatial light modulator comprises a first region and a second region, and wherein said spatial light modulator is further operable to contemporaneously vary a first portion of said incoming light field associated with said first region differently from a second portion of said incoming light field associated with said second region to cause a different amount of light to pass through said first and second regions.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein said plurality of spatial radiometric attributes comprise respective radiance values associated with respective spatial locations.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein said plurality of radiometric attributes comprise respective wavelength composition values associated with respective spatial locations.

17. The system of claim 14 further comprising:

a second component for determining a parallax error associated with said incoming light field; and

wherein said first component is further operable to automatically modify said modulator setting based upon said parallax error, and wherein said spatial light modulator is further operable to dynamically vary said incoming light field based upon said modified modulator setting.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein said second component is operable to determine said parallax error by tracking a feature of an observer of said incoming light field, wherein said feature is selected from a group consisting of a head and an eye of said observer, and wherein said second component is further operable to determine said parallax error based upon a position of said feature.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein said spatial light modulator is further operable to perform image processing on said incoming light field.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said image processing is selected from a group consisting of tone mapping, color enhancement, beautification, edge enhancement, spectral separation of colors, spectral separation of metamers, and object emphasis.