Statically foveated freeform OST-HMD system with wide FOV and high perceived resolution

Pengyinjie Lyu; Hong Hua

doi:10.1038/s41377-026-02291-9

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Statically foveated freeform OST-HMD system with wide FOV and high perceived resolution

Original Articles

- Statically foveated freeform OST-HMD system with wide FOV and high perceived resolution
- Light: Science & Applications Vol. 15, Issue 8, Pages: 2629-2639(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  James C. Wyant College of Optical Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0094, USA
- Author bio：
  
  Hong Hua (hhua@optics.arizona.edu)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1038/s41377-026-02291-9
  CLC：
- Received：17 September 2025，
  
  Revised：2026-03-17，
  
  Accepted：01 April 2026，
  
  Online First：18 May 2026，
  
  Published：31 August 2026
- Accepted：
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Lyu, P. Y. J. & Hua, H. Statically foveated freeform OST-HMD system with wide FOV and high perceived resolution. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 2629-2639 (2026).
DOI：

Lyu, P. Y. J. & Hua, H. Statically foveated freeform OST-HMD system with wide FOV and high perceived resolution. Light: Science & Applications, 15, 2629-2639 (2026). DOI： 10.1038/s41377-026-02291-9.

摘要

Abstract

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) based on the well-established rectilinear sampling method are subject to the inherent trade-off between wide field of view (FOV) and high spatial resolution. This challenge limits their broader application due to constraints in manufacturing high-resolution displays and the substantial data bandwidth required for rendering

storage

and transmission. Foveated display technology alleviates this issue by allocating resources differently between the region of interest and the peripheral region. However

most existing solutions rely on dynamic dual-resolution schemes that are costly and complex

requiring multiple displays or optical paths

two-dimensional steering mechanisms

and eye-tracking systems. We propose and demonstrate a perception-driven approach to the design of a three-element freeform eyepiece featuring spatially varying optical power. The novel eyepiece enables the creation of a statically foveated optical see-through HMD

yielding a display of an 80° diagonal FOV and a peak resolution density of 60 pixels per degree with a 4 K display panel. The system offers high perceived resolution across the FOV with imperceptible or minimal degradation and resolution discontinuity with eye movements. Our approach eliminates the need for eye tracking

scanning mechanisms

or multiple displays

significantly reducing hardware complexity. Compared to the rectilinear sampling scheme offering the same peak resolution density and FOV

our system reduces pixel usage by more than 35% or equivalently 4.4 million fewer pixels.

关键词

Keywords

references

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