Autostereoscopic campfire display

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12570145-B2
Application number	US-202318483163-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 9, 2023
Priority date	Oct 9, 2023
Publication date	Mar 10, 2026
Grant date	Mar 10, 2026

Abstract

A system for generating a floating image for a plurality of passengers within a vehicle includes a passenger monitoring system adapted to monitor the position of head and eyes of each passenger, a compute engine in communication with the passenger monitoring system and adapted to calculate a holographic image and encode the holographic image to a display of a picture generating unit hologram generator, and a beam steering device adapted to receive information related to a position of the head and eyes of each of the passengers from the passenger monitoring system, and the display is adapted to project the holographic image to the beam steering device and the beam steering device is adapted to re-direct the projected holographic image to the eyes of each of the passengers, based on the information received from the passenger monitoring system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for generating a floating image for a plurality of passengers within a vehicle, comprising:
a passenger monitoring system adapted to monitor the position of head and eyes of each of the plurality of passengers; a compute engine in communication with the passenger monitoring system and adapted to calculate a right-eye image and a left-eye image of a holographic image and alternately encode the right-eye image to a display of a picture generating unit (PGU) hologram generator and encode the left-eye image to the display of the PGU hologram generator, switching back and forth between encoding the right-eye image and encoding the left-eye image at a frequency greater than 30 Hz; and a beam steering device, wherein: the display is adapted to project, alternately, at a frequency greater than 30 Hz and in sync with the compute engine, the right-eye image and the left-eye image to the beam steering device; the beam steering device is adapted to receive, via the compute engine, information related to a position of the head and eyes of each of the plurality of passengers from the passenger monitoring system; and the display is adapted to project the right-eye image and the left-eye image of the holographic image to the beam steering device and the beam steering device is adapted to re-direct the right-eye image directly to a right eye of each of the plurality of passengers and re-direct the left-eye image directly to a left eye of each of the plurality of passengers, wherein the right-eye image and the left-eye image are different perspectives of a single image such that when the right eye of each of the plurality of passengers receives the right-eye image and the left eye of each of the plurality of passengers receives the left-eye image, each of the plurality of passengers perceives a three-dimensional image floating within the vehicle.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the compute engine is further adapted to encode a lens function into the holographic image based on information received from the passenger monitoring system.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the beam steering device includes a waveguide having an exit surface with a fixed wavefront curvature adapted to adjust an accommodation distance of the holographic image.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the beam steering device further includes a first lens adapted to further adjust the accommodation distance of the right-eye image and a second lens adapted to further adjust the accommodation distance of the left-eye image.

5 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the beam steering device includes a first splitting prism adapted to re-direct the right-eye image to the right eye of each of the plurality of passengers and a second splitting prism adapted to re-direct the left-eye image to the left eye of each of the plurality of passengers.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the beam steering device further includes a plurality of directional lenses, each one of the plurality of directional lenses adapted to one of:
steer the right-eye image to the right eye of one of the plurality of passengers; or steer the left-eye image to the left eye of one of the plurality of passengers.

7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the beam steering device further includes a plurality of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirrors, each one of the plurality of MEMS mirrors adapted to one of:
steer the right-eye image to the right eye of one of the plurality of passengers; or steer the left-eye image to the left eye of one of the plurality of passengers.

8 . The system of claim 5 , wherein:
the display includes a right-eye display and a left-eye display; the compute engine is adapted to calculate the right-eye image and the left-eye image and to simultaneously encode the right-eye image to the right-eye display and encode the left-eye image to the left-eye display; and the right-eye display and the left-eye display are adapted to project, simultaneously, the right-eye image through the waveguide to the first splitting prism and the left-eye image through the waveguide to the second splitting prism.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the beam steering device is mounted within the vehicle adjacent to or above passenger seating that is opposite the plurality of passengers.

10 . A method of generating a floating image for a plurality of passengers within a vehicle, comprising:
monitoring, with a passenger monitoring system, the position of head and eyes of the plurality of passengers; calculating, with a compute engine in communication with the passenger monitoring system, a right-eye image and a left-eye image of a holographic image and alternately encoding the right-eye image onto a display of a picture generating unit (PGU) hologram generator and the left-eye image onto the display of the PGU hologram generator and switching back and forth between encoding the right-eye image and encoding the left-eye image at a frequency greater than 30 Hz; receiving, with a beam steering device, via the compute engine, information related to a position of the passenger's head and eyes from the passenger monitoring system; and projecting, with the display, alternately, at a frequency greater than 30 Hz and in sync with the compute engine, the right-eye image and the left-eye image to the beam steering device, and, re-directing, with the beam steering device, the right-eye image directly to the right eye of each of the plurality of passengers and re-directing, with the beam steering device, the left-eye image directly to the left eye of each of the plurality of passengers, wherein the right-eye image and the left-eye image are different perspectives of a single image such that when the right eye of each of the plurality of passengers receives the right-eye image and the left eye of each of the plurality of passengers receives the left-eye image, each of the plurality of passengers perceives a three-dimensional image floating within the vehicle.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further including encoding, with the compute engine, a lens function into the holographic image based on information received from the passenger monitoring system.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the re-directing, with the beam steering device, the projected holographic image to the eyes of each of the plurality of passengers further includes adjusting an accommodation distance of the holographic image with an exit surface of a waveguide of the beam steering device.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the re-directing, with the beam steering device, the projected holographic image to the eyes of each of the plurality of passengers further includes adjusting the accommodation distance of the right-eye image of the holographic image with a first lens, and adjusting the accommodation distance of the left-eye image of the holographic image with a second lens.

14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the re-directing, with the beam steering device, the projected holographic image to the eyes of each of the plurality of passengers further includes steering the right-eye image to the right eye of each one of the plurality of passengers with one of a plurality of directional lenses and steering the left-eye image to the left eye of each one of the plurality of passengers with one of the plurality of directional lenses.

15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the re-directing, with the beam steering device, the projected holographic image to the eyes of each of the plurality of passengers further includes steering the right-eye image to the right eye of each one of th

Assignees

• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Philipp Tzvi
• Seder Thomas A
• Szczerba Joseph F
• Sharma Manoj Kumar

Classifications

• B60K35/211

  producing three-dimensional [3D] effects, e.g. stereoscopic images · CPC title

• B60K2360/29

  Holographic features · CPC title

• B60K2360/23

  using reflectors · CPC title

• B60K35/22

  Display screens · CPC title

• G02B27/0093

  with means for monitoring data relating to the user, e.g. head-tracking, eye-tracking · CPC title