Light field display system for cinemas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12022053-B2
Application number	US-202117548906-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2021
Priority date	Mar 25, 2019
Publication date	Jun 25, 2024
Grant date	Jun 25, 2024

Abstract

A light filed (LF) display system for displaying holographic content (e.g., a holographic film or holographic content to augment a film) to viewers in a cinema. The LF display system in the cinema includes LF display modules tiled together to form an array of LF modules. The array of LF modules create a holographic object volume for displaying the holographic content in the cinema. The array of LF modules displays the holographic content to viewers in viewing volumes. The LF display system can be included in a LF film network. The LF film network allows holographic content to be created at one location and presented at another location. The LF film network includes a network system to manage the digital rights of the holographic performance content.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A light field (LF) display system comprising:
a processing engine configured to generate holographic content for display by an aggregate light field display surface; and a light field display assembly comprising a plurality of light field displays, each light field display comprising: one or more the energy devices configured to receive instruction from the processing engine and generate electromagnetic energy to project to an audience as the holographic content; and a light field display surface comprising a plurality of display surface locations, each surface location configured to project a portion of the holographic content; and wherein the plurality of light field displays are tiled such that their light field display surfaces form the aggregate light field display surface operable to project the holographic content from all of the plurality of display surface locations of the light field display surfaces; wherein the processing engine is configured to create the holographic content based in part on one or more viewers identified in the audience, each identified viewer viewing the holographic content displayed by the LF display system and associated with a viewer profile including one or more characteristics; wherein the processing engine comprises:
a processor configured to apply a model to: identify a particular viewer of the one or more viewers viewing the displayed holographic content using information obtained by a tracking system, identify one or more characteristics of the particular viewer based on the viewer profile for the identified particular user, determine a preference for the particular viewer based on the identified characteristics, and create holographic content for presentation by the LF display system to the particular viewer according to the determined preference; wherein the holographic content presented by the LF display modules is a film that can be presented in a cinema and the created holographic content augments the film; wherein the processing engine is configured to generate additional content for presentation by light field display assembly as a second type of energy projected from a spatially separated array of locations, the projected second type of energy forming a haptic surface created based on at least one of phase delays or amplitude variations across the spatially separated array of locations; and where the one or more of the energy devices of each light field display are configured to receive instruction from the processing engine and generate the second type of energy to project the additional content to the audience via the aggregate light field display surfaces.

2. The LF display system of claim 1 , wherein the holographic content is presented to one or more viewing volumes in the audience, and the holographic content presented to a first viewing volume of the one or more viewing volumes is different from the holographic content presented to a second viewing volume of the one or more viewing volumes.

3. The LF display system of claim 1 , wherein the second type of energy is acoustic energy, the acoustic energy projected to the audience as audio content for the holographic content.

4. The LF display system of claim 1 , wherein the second type of energy is ultrasonic energy, the ultrasonic energy presented to the audience as one or more tactile surfaces.

5. The LF display system of claim 1 , wherein the LF display assembly is configured to project the second type of energy as one or more tactile surfaces and project the electromagnetic energy as holographic content, the tactile surfaces and holographic content projected to the audience at the same convergence point.

6. The LF display system of claim 1 , wherein a first subset of the plurality of display surface locations of each light field display are configured to emit electromagnetic energy representing holographic content generated by the energy devices.

7. The LF display system of claim 6 , wherein a second subset of the plurality of display surface locations of each light field display are configured to emit a second type of energy representing additional content for presentation to the audience.

8. The LF display system of claim 7 , wherein the first and second subsets of energy locations of the plurality of display surface locations of each light field display are in an interleaving arrangement.

9. The LF display system of claim 1 , wherein the LF display assembly further comprises:
a plurality of waveguides configured to receive electromagnetic energy representing holographic content generated by the energy devices and project the electromagnetic energy towards the audience from the display surface along a plurality of propagation paths.

10. The LF display system of claim 9 , wherein the LF display assembly further comprises:
a plurality of energy locations configured to emit the electromagnetic energy representing holographic content, and the plurality of waveguides are configured to direct the electromagnetic energy from the plurality of energy locations towards the display surface for projection to the audience, and
wherein each propagation path corresponds to an energy location of the plurality of energy locations and a direction of each propagation path is based on a position of the energy location from which it is emitted.

11. The LF display system of claim 1 , further comprising:
one or more of energy relays configured to relay electromagnetic energy representing holographic content generated by the energy devices to one or more energy surfaces.

12. The LF display system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more energy surfaces are substantially seamless.

13. The LF display system of claim 11 wherein one or more of the energy relays are configured to relay the second type of energy representing the additional content from the energy devices to the one or more energy surfaces.

14. The LF display system of claim 11 , wherein the energy relays configured to relay electromagnetic energy and the energy relays configured to relay the second type of energy are interleaved.

15. The LF display system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of energy devices comprise:
one or more electromagnetic energy devices that generates electromagnetic energy for projection as holographic content to the audience.

16. The LF display system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of energy devices comprise:
one or more ultrasonic energy sources configured to generate ultrasonic energy for presentation to the audience as one or more volumetric tactile surfaces.

17. The LF display system of claim 1 , the plurality of energy devices comprise:
an array of electrostatic speakers coupled to a plurality of waveguide elements, the array of electrostatic speakers comprising:
at least one transparent membrane configured to generate acoustic energy when driven, and
a plurality of electrodes configured to acoustically drive the transparent membrane, each electrode of the plurality of the electrodes located between one or more waveguide elements of the plurality of waveguide elements.

18. The LF display system of claim 1 , further comprising: the tracking system configured to obtain information about viewers viewing the holographic content.

19. The LF display system of claim 18 , wherein the information obtained by the tracking system includes:
viewer responses to holographic content, and
characteristics of viewers viewing the holographic content.

20. The LF display system of claim 19 , wherein the information about the viewers

Assignees

• Light Field Lab Inc

Inventors

• Karafin Jonathan Sean
• Bevensee Brendan Elwood
• Dohm John

Classifications

• G03H1/2205 Primary

  using downstream optical component · CPC title

• G03H2210/30

  3D object · CPC title

• G03H2001/0061

  in haptic applications when the observer interacts with the holobject · CPC title

• G03H2001/0088

  for video-holography, i.e. integrating hologram acquisition, transmission and display · CPC title

• G09G2370/022

  Centralised management of display operation, e.g. in a server instead of locally · CPC title