Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: To address the U.S. Marine Corps need for a dynamic foveal vision display that increases s

Description

To address the U.S. Marine Corps need for a dynamic foveal vision display that increases situational awareness of dismounted Marines, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to complete the development of a new Augmented Reality Gaze-Under-control Super-resolution Head-Mounted Display (ARGUS-HMD). The ARGUS-HMD is based on an optical-electronic-software implementation of foveal vision that creates an illusion of a panoramic high-resolution image on a see-through display from a high-resolution imaging sensor, just displaying a small portion of the high-resolution image corresponding to the foveal area. This unique performance is achieved due to innovative system design and optimized image rendering software integrated with a calibration-free eye tracker. In Phase I POC has proved the feasibility of this approach by demonstrating several laboratory and wearable prototypes. In Phase II POC will extend the capabilities achieved in Phase I to address the USMC need for increased situational awareness and to meet all major requirements including wide field of view, small form factor, high optical resolution, and low power consumption. The Phase II prototype will be compatible with existing and future imaging sensors available for Marines. The Phase II prototype will be ready for testing by the Marines in a field environment.