AR/VR Lens
Specially designed lens option for near-eye display testing within augmented and virtual reality headsets
The AR/VR Lens has a unique optical design specially engineered for measuring near-eye displays (NEDs), such as those integrated into virtual (VR), mixed (MR), and augmented reality (AR) headsets. The lens design simulates the size, position, and field of view of the human eye. Unlike alternative lens options, where the aperture is located inside the lens, the aperture of the AR/VR lens is located on the front of the lens, enabling positioning of the imaging system’s entrance pupil within NED headsets to view head-mounted displays (HMDs) at the same location as the human eye.
- Replicates human eye in AR, VR, MR headsets
- Field of view up to ±60° (120° total) horizontal
- Pairs with high-resolution ProMetric® Imaging Colorimeters & Photometers
- TT-ARVR™ Software for comprehensive in-headset testing
Evaluates the Full Display Field of View Experienced by Human Users
Displays viewed near to the eye, such as those in AR/VR devices, create immersive virtual experiences. However, as display images are magnified to fill a user’s field of view (FOV), display defects are also magnified. Issues with uniformity of brightness and color, dead pixels, line defects, cloudiness, and image position become more evident to the user whose eyes are only centimeters away from display screens. In these cases, display quality testing is a critical step for product quality control. Test and measurement solutions for evaluation of NED quality include photometric imaging systems paired with software for luminance and chromaticity measurement and analysis. However, traditional optical components that measure displays like televisions and smartphones did not include design considerations for replicating the human eye’s view of visual input at the distances required for head-mounted display devices.
Specially designed for display quality measurement in NED headsets, the Radiant Vision Systems AR/VR lens includes aperture characteristics that simulate the approximate size, position, and FOV of the human eye. With the aperture at the front of the lens, the connected imaging system can capture the full FOV of the display (up to 120° horizontal, 80° vertical, covering approximate human binocular FOV) without obstruction by the lens hardware. The aperture size of 3.6 mm also matches the size of a human entrance pupil, allowing displays to be measured under the same conditions as they are viewed by a human observer. This ensures that all aspects of the display visible to the user are comprehensively measured to ensure the intended experience.
Competitive measurement systems that use standard optical accessories (such as a 35mm lens) are unable to replicate the human observer’s visual experience because the aperture is integrated within the lens enclosure, limiting the full angular FOV of the display to be captured without occlusion by the NED headset hardware (frames of the eye lens). The effect is like viewing a scene through a knot hole in a fence–when the eye is position at the hole, the full FOV can be seen beyond the fence; as the eye moves away from the hole, the view becomes occluded by the edges of the fence.
"Knot hole" example illustrating the difference in FOV given the position of the entrance pupil or aperture.
Full-FOV measurement image captured by the AR/VR Lens through a VR headset, shown in TT-ARVR™ Software in "false color" scale to represent luminance.
Mount to ProMetric Photometers and Colorimeters
The AR/VR lens is an optional mounting accessory for Radiant’s ProMetric Y Imaging Photometer or ProMetric I Imaging Colorimeter, which attaches using a custom mounting bracket to ensure stability during movement or vibration. By mounting a lens directly to a ProMetric imaging photometer or colorimeter, the AR/VR lens offers the most efficient means of measuring NEDs as a turnkey, compact camera/lens solution that requires minimal setup and integration time, equipment, or expertise. The AR/VR lens can easily be removed and replaced with standard lenses for additional display measurement applications, such as testing displays outside of headset equipment or on the production line.
Complete Toolset for AR/VR Display Measurement
Paired with a Radiant ProMetric® Imaging Photometer or Colorimeter and software, the AR/VR Lens provides a complete solution for accurate and efficient measurement of headset displays. The AR/VR Lens can be exchanged with standard lenses, enabling ProMetric imaging systems to capture high-resolution images of displays outside of the headset for pixel and sub-pixel measurements, detecting defects and anomalies in LED, LCD, OLED, microLED, and projection display components. Radiant TrueTest™ Software provides the leading display test algorithms, with the capability to sequence tests for rapid evaluation of all relevant display characteristics in a matter of seconds, applying selected tests to a single image captured by the camera. Standard tests in TrueTest include luminance, chromaticity, contrast, uniformity, mura (blemishes), pixel and line defects, and more. The application-specific TT-ARVR™ software module adds unique tests for AR/VR display analysis, which include:
- Modulation transfer function (MTF) to evaluate image clarity based on Line Pairs, Slant Edge Contrast (ISO 12233), or Line Spread Function (LSF)
- Image integrity evaluation including Distortion, Focus Uniformity, and Warping analyses
- Report the horizontal, vertical, and diagonal display FOV
- Factory distortion calibration of the lens solution to normalize wide field-of-view images for testing
- Spatial x,y position reported in degrees (°)
With this complete Radiant solution configured for exact application needs, manufacturers can realize an efficient measurement process with the benefit of a single provider with end-to-end support.
Wide-field-of-view images taken by a camera/lens solution before and after factory distortion calibration. Distortion calibration of each system ensures accurate spatial data is acquired by normalizing the lens effects in wide-field-of-view images.
AR/VR Lens Key Features and Highlights:
- Accurate, reliable measurement of display luminance and chromaticity
- Aperture positioned at front of lens to simulate human eye entrance pupil, capturing full FOV of head-mounted display (HMD) projections through headset viewing lenses
- Aperture size (3.6 mm) simulates human eye pupil size
- FOV of lens (120° horizontal, 80° vertical) covers immersive display FOV
- Designed to be positioned at the eye relief location
- Easily paired with ProMetric imaging colorimeters or photometers
- Combination of low cost, high performance, and flexibility, designed for R&D and quality assurance
- Easy-to-use measurement control and analysis software
All Radiant ProMetric camera solutions come with ProMetric Software, a powerful software suite that provides intuitive camera setup and control, data acquisition and image analysis. Extensive data analysis and display functions are also supported, including isometric plots, cross-section graphs, radar plots, bitmaps and CIE color plots. For additional measurement and test sequencing options, TrueTest Software offers the comprehensive range of Radiant display measurement capability.
Awards and Recognition:
The AR/VR Lens has been honored with these awards for innovation:
- Vision Systems Design – 2018 Innovators Awards; Silver-level
- Laser Focus World – 2018 Innovators Awards; Gold-level
Parameter | AR/VR Lens | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primary Application | Light and color measurement for near-eye displays (NED) in headsets | |||||
Aperture | 3.6 mm; Located at front of lens | |||||
Focus | Manual | |||||
Focus Distance* | Range 0.25 m to infinity | |||||
Luminance - Minimum | 0.05 cd/m2 | |||||
Luminance - Maximum** | 10,000 cd/m2 (Y-Series); 1,000,000 cd/m2 (I-Series) | |||||
Measurement Capabilities*** |
Luminance, Radiance, CIE Chromaticity Coordinates, Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) |
|||||
Units*** | cd/m2, nit, W/sr/m2, foot-lambert, CIE (x, y) and (u’, v’), Kelvin (CCT) | |||||
Paired with Camera |
ProMetric |
ProMetric I8 |
ProMetric I29 |
ProMetric Y45 |
ProMetric Y61, I61, I61-SC |
|
Approximate Field of View**** |
30° | 60° | 120° | 88° | 120° | |
Approximate Field of View**** |
22° | 45° | 80° | 58° | 80° | |
Resolution | 0.018° / sensor pixel | 0.011° / sensor pixel | 0.013° / sensor pixel |
* Measured from front of lens.
** Maximum luminance is for 1 ms. For higher luminance for Y-series cameras, contact Info@RadiantVS.com.
*** Color measurement available with I-series cameras only.
**** At 2 m focus distance. Actual field of view may vary by approximately 1%.
Specifications subject to change without notice. If there are any discrepancies between these specifications and the specifications shown in the PDF product Spec Sheet, the product Spec Sheet is considered correct.
Compatible Products:
- ProMetric Y Series Photometers: Y45*, Y61*
- ProMetric I Series Colorimeters: I2, I8, I29*, I61*
- ProMetric I-SC Solution: I61-SC*
*Recommended for full display FOV measurement to 120° horizontal.
System Recommendations:
- ProMetric Imaging Photometer or Colorimeter (29MP or higher recommended), or ProMetric I-SC Solution (61MP)
- TT-ARVR™ Software module
- Windows® 10, 64 bit
- 16-32 GB RAM
- Additional system requirements vary by camera.
Typical Applications
The AR/VR lens is the first to enable evaluation of the entire display viewable to the human eye through AR/VR headsets. The camera/lens solution offers high-resolution imaging to address both off-line and in-line applications:
- Measurement of near-eye displays; ideal for augmented (AR), mixed (MR), and virtual reality (VR) headsets
- Test and measurement of luminance, chromaticity, contrast, modulation transfer function (MTF), image distortion, image retention/sticking, and x,y image position
- Characterization and quality control for devices in R&D and production
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