Apple Wins Patent For Direct Retinal Projector System

Apple has won a patent for a direct retinal projector system that provides dynamic focusing for virtual reality (VR) and/or augmented reality (AR). A direct retinal projector system scans images, pixel by pixel, directly onto the subject's retinas. This allows individual pixels to be optically affected dynamically as the images are scanned to the subject's retinas.

Dynamic focusing components and techniques may be used in a direct retinal projector system to dynamically and correctly focus each pixel in VR images as the images are being scanned to a subject's eyes. This allows objects, surfaces, etc. that are intended to appear at different distances in a scene to be projected to the subject's eyes at the correct depths.

Conventional VR systems project left and right images onto screens that are viewed by a subject. However, a direct retinal projector system scans the images, pixel by pixel, directly onto the subject's retinas. This aspect of direct retinal projector systems allows individual pixels to be optically affected dynamically as the images are scanned to the subject's retinas. Embodiments of dynamic focusing components and techniques may be used in a direct retinal projector system to dynamically and correctly focus each pixel in VR images as the images are being scanned to a subject's eyes. This allows content (objects, surfaces, etc.) that is intended to appear at different depths in a scene to be projected to the subject's eyes at the correct depths. Thus, the dynamic focusing components and techniques for direct retinal projector systems may help to reduce or eliminate the convergence-accommodation conflict in VR systems. A VR or AR headset system may include or implement the dynamic focusing components and techniques in a direct retinal projector system.