Advancements in Optical See-through Near-Eye Display

Abstract

With the development of optical design and manufacturing, the optical see-through near-eye display becomes a promising research topic in recent decades, which can be applied in medical devices, education, aviation, entertainment et al. Typical products include Head-mounted Displays (HMDs) and Augmented Reality (AR) glasses. The optical display system of AR devices mainly consists of a miniature projecting module and an optical imaging module. In this chapter, the display systems used by AR glasses on the market, including various mini-display screens and optical imaging elements, have been systematically summarized. Therein, the differences in optical combinators are the key part to distinguish various AR display systems. Thus, it is essential to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of each optical imaging technology applied in this area. Besides, the characteristics of the projectors are crucial to the quality of the images.