Magic Leap Patent | See-Through Computer Display Systems With Stray Light Management

Patent: See-Through Computer Display Systems With Stray Light Management

Publication Number: 20200073128

Publication Date: 20200305

Applicants: Magic Leap

Abstract

Aspects of the present invention relate to methods and systems for the see-through computer display systems. In embodiments, the systems and methods use curved display panels to generate image light.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 15/657,511, filed on Jul. 24, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

[0002] This disclosure relates to see-through computer display systems.

Description of Related Art

[0003] Head mounted displays (HMDs) and particularly HMDs that provide a see-through view of the environment are valuable instruments. The presentation of content in the see-through display can be a complicated operation when attempting to ensure that the user experience is optimized. Improved systems and methods for presenting content in the see-through display are required to improve the user experience.

SUMMARY

[0004] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods and systems for the see-through computer display systems with improved stray light management systems.

[0005] These and other systems, methods, objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the drawings. All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Embodiments are described with reference to the following Figures. The same numbers may be used throughout to reference like features and components that are shown in the Figures:

[0007] FIG. 1 illustrates a head worn computing system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0008] FIG. 2 illustrates a head worn computing system with optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0009] FIG. 3a illustrates a large prior art optical arrangement.

[0010] FIG. 3b illustrates an upper optical module in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates an upper optical module in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIG. 4a illustrates an upper optical module in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 4b illustrates an upper optical module in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0014] FIG. 5 illustrates an upper optical module in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 5a illustrates an upper optical module in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 5b illustrates an upper optical module and dark light trap according to the principles of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIG. 5c illustrates an upper optical module and dark light trap according to the principles of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIG. 5d illustrates an upper optical module and dark light trap according to the principles of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIG. 5e illustrates an upper optical module and dark light trap according to the principles of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 6 illustrates upper and lower optical modules in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 7 illustrates angles of combiner elements in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 8 illustrates upper and lower optical modules in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 8a illustrates upper and lower optical modules in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 8b illustrates upper and lower optical modules in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 8c illustrates upper and lower optical modules in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 9 illustrates an eye imaging system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 10 illustrates a light source in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 10a illustrates a back lighting system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 10b illustrates a back lighting system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIGS. 11a to 11d illustrate light source and filters in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIGS. 12a to 12c illustrate light source and quantum dot systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIGS. 13a to 13c illustrate peripheral lighting systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIGS. 14a to 14c illustrate a light suppression systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 15 illustrates an external user interface in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0035] FIGS. 16a to 16c illustrate distance control systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIGS. 17a to 17c illustrate force interpretation systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0037] FIGS. 18a to 18c illustrate user interface mode selection systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0038] FIG. 19 illustrates interaction systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0039] FIG. 20 illustrates external user interfaces in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0040] FIG. 21 illustrates mD trace representations presented in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0041] FIG. 22 illustrates mD trace representations presented in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0042] FIG. 23 illustrates an mD scanned environment in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0043] FIG. 23a illustrates mD trace representations presented in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0044] FIG. 24 illustrates a stray light suppression technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0045] FIG. 25 illustrates a stray light suppression technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0046] FIG. 26 illustrates a stray light suppression technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 27 illustrates a stray light suppression technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0048] FIGS. 28a to 28c illustrate DLP mirror angles.

[0049] FIGS. 29 to 33 illustrate eye imaging systems according to the principles of the present disclosure.

[0050] FIGS. 34 and 34a illustrate structured eye lighting systems according to the principles of the present disclosure.

[0051] FIG. 35 illustrates eye glint in the prediction of eye direction analysis in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0052] FIG. 36a illustrates eye characteristics that may be used in personal identification through analysis of a system according to the principles of the present disclosure.

[0053] FIG. 36b illustrates a digital content presentation reflection off of the wearer’s eye that may be analyzed in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0054] FIG. 37 illustrates eye imaging along various virtual target lines and various focal planes in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0055] FIG. 38 illustrates content control with respect to eye movement based on eye imaging in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0056] FIG. 39 illustrates eye imaging and eye convergence in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0057] FIG. 40 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0058] FIG. 41 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0059] FIG. 42 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0060] FIG. 43 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0061] FIG. 44 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0062] FIG. 45 illustrates various headings over time in an example.

[0063] FIG. 46 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0064] FIG. 47 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0065] FIG. 48 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0066] FIG. 49 illustrates content position dependent on sensor feedback in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0067] FIG. 50 illustrates light impinging an eye in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0068] FIG. 51 illustrates a view of an eye in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0069] FIGS. 52a and 52b illustrate views of an eye with a structured light pattern in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0070] FIG. 53 illustrates an optics module in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0071] FIG. 54 illustrates an optics module in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0072] FIG. 55 shows a series of example spectrum for a variety of controlled substances as measured using a form of infrared spectroscopy.

[0073] FIG. 56 shows an infrared absorbance spectrum for glucose.

[0074] FIG. 57 illustrates a scene where a person is walking with a HWC mounted on his head.

[0075] FIG. 58 illustrates a system for receiving, developing and using movement heading, sight heading, eye heading and/or persistence information from HWC(s).

[0076] FIG. 59 illustrates a presentation technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0077] FIG. 60 illustrates a presentation technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0078] FIG. 61 illustrates a presentation technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0079] FIG. 62 illustrates a presentation technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0080] FIG. 63 illustrates a presentation technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0081] FIG. 64 illustrates a presentation technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0082] FIG. 65 illustrates a presentation technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0083] FIG. 66 illustrates a presentation technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0084] FIG. 67 illustrates an optical configuration in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0085] FIG. 68 illustrates an optical configuration in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0086] FIG. 69 illustrates an optical configuration in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0087] FIG. 70 illustrates an optical configuration in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0088] FIG. 71 illustrates an optical configuration in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0089] FIG. 72 illustrates an optical element in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0090] FIG. 73 illustrates an optical element in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0091] FIG. 74 illustrates an optical element in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0092] FIG. 75 illustrates an optical element in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0093] FIG. 76 illustrates an optical element in a see-through computer display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0094] FIG. 77 illustrates an optical element in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0095] FIG. 78 illustrates an optical element in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0096] FIG. 79a illustrates a schematic of an upper optic in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0097] FIG. 79 illustrates a schematic of an upper optic in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0098] FIG. 80 illustrates a stray light control technology in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0099] FIGS. 81a and 81b illustrate a display with a gap and masked technologies in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0100] FIG. 82 illustrates an upper module with a trim polarizer in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0101] FIG. 83 illustrates an optical system with a laminated multiple polarizer film in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0102] FIGS. 84a and 84b illustrate partially reflective layers in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0103] FIG. 84c illustrates a laminated multiple polarizer with a complex curve in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0104] FIG. 84d illustrates a laminated multiple polarizer with a curve in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0105] FIG. 85 illustrates an optical system adapted for a head-mounted display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0106] FIG. 86 illustrates an optical system adapted for a head-mounted display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0107] FIG. 87 illustrates an optical system adapted for a head-mounted display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0108] FIG. 88 illustrates an optical system adapted for a head-mounted display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0109] FIG. 89 illustrates an optical system adapted for a head-mounted display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0110] FIG. 90 illustrates an optical system adapted for a head-mounted display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0111] FIG. 91 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0112] FIG. 92 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0113] FIG. 93 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0114] FIG. 94 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0115] FIG. 95 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0116] FIG. 96 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0117] FIG. 97 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0118] FIG. 98 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0119] FIG. 99 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0120] FIG. 100 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0121] FIG. 101 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0122] FIG. 102 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0123] FIGS. 103, 103a and 103b illustrate optical systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0124] FIG. 104 illustrates an optical system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0125] FIG. 105 illustrates a blocking optic in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0126] FIGS. 106a, 106b, and 106c illustrate a blocking optic system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0127] FIG. 107 illustrates a full color image in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0128] FIGS. 108A and 108B illustrate color breakup management in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0129] FIG. 109 illustrates timing sequences in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0130] FIG. 110 illustrates timing sequences in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0131] FIGS. 111a and 111b illustrate sequentially displayed images in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0132] FIG. 112 illustrates a see-through display with rotated components in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0133] FIG. 113 illustrates an optics module with twisted reflective surfaces in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0134] FIG. 114 illustrates PCB and see-through optics module positions within a glasses form factor in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0135] FIG. 115 illustrates PCB and see-through optics module positions within a glasses form factor in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0136] FIG. 116 illustrates PCB and see-through optics module positions within a glasses form factor in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0137] FIG. 117 illustrates a user interface in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0138] FIG. 118 illustrates a user interface in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0139] FIG. 119 illustrates a lens arrangement in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0140] FIGS. 120 and 121 illustrate eye imaging systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0141] FIG. 122 illustrates an identification process in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0142] FIGS. 123 and 124 illustrate combiner assemblies in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0143] FIG. 125 shows a chart of the sensitivity of the human eye versus brightness.

[0144] FIG. 126 is a chart that shows the brightness (L*) perceived by the human eye relative to a measured brightness (luminance) of a scene.

[0145] FIG. 127 is illustration of a see-through view of the surrounding environment with an outline showing the display field of view being smaller than the see-through field of view as is typical.

[0146] FIG. 128 is an illustration of a captured image of the surrounding environment which can be a substantially larger field of view than the displayed image so that a cropped version of the captured image of the environment can be used for the alignment process.

[0147] FIGS. 129a and 129b illustrate first and second target images with invisible markers.

[0148] FIGS. 130 and 131 illustrate targets overlaid onto a see-through view, wherein the target is moved using eye tracking control, in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0149] FIG. 132 shows an illustration of multiply folded optics for a head worn display that includes a solid prism in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0150] FIGS. 133a, 133b and 133c show illustrations of steps associated with bonding the reflective plate to the solid prism in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0151] FIG. 134 shows an illustration of multiply folded optics for a reflective image source with a backlight assembly positioned behind the reflective plate in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0152] FIG. 135 shows an illustration of a prism film bonded to a reflective plate in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0153] FIG. 135a shows an illustration of multiply folded optics in which two cones of illumination light provided by the prism film are shown in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0154] FIGS. 136, 137 and 138 show illustrations of different embodiments of additional optical elements included in the solid prism for imaging the eye of the user in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0155] FIG. 139 shows an illustration of an eye imaging system for multiply folded optics in which the image source is a self-luminous display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0156] FIGS. 140a and 140b are illustrations of an eye imaging system in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0157] FIGS. 141a and 141b are illustrations of folded optics that include a waveguide with an angled partially reflective surface and a powered reflective surface in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0158] FIGS. 142a and 142b are illustrations of folded optics for a head-worn display that include waveguides with at least one holographic optical element and image source in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0159] FIG. 143 is an illustration of folded optics for a head-worn display in which the illumination light is injected into the waveguide and redirected by the holographic optical element so that the user’s eye is illuminated in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0160] FIG. 144 shows an illustration of folded optics for a head-worn display where a series of angled partial mirrors are included in the waveguide in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0161] FIG. 145 shows an illustration of a beam splitter based optical module for a head-worn display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0162] FIG. 146 shows an illustration of an optical module for a head-worn display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0163] FIG. 146a shows an illustration of a side view of an optics module that includes a corrective lens element.

[0164] FIG. 147 shows an illustration of left and right optics modules that are connected together in a chassis in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0165] FIG. 148 shows the left and right images provided at the nominal vergence distance within the left and right display fields of view in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0166] FIG. 149 shows how the left and right images are shifted laterally towards each other within the left and right display fields of view in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0167] FIGS. 150a and 150b show a mechanism for moving the image source in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0168] FIGS. 151a and 151b show illustrations of an upper wedge and lower wedge from the position of the image source in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0169] FIG. 152 shows an illustration of spring clips applying a force to an image source in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0170] FIGS. 153a, 153b and 154 shows illustrations of example display optics that include eye imaging in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0171] FIGS. 155a, 155b, 156a, 156b, 157a, 157b, 158a, 158b, 159a and 159b show illustrations of focus adjustment modules in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0172] FIG. 160 shows an illustration of an example of multiply folded optics as viewed from the eye position in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0173] FIGS. 161 and 162 illustrate optical systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0174] FIG. 163A illustrates an abrupt change in appearance of content in the field of view of a see-through display.

[0175] FIG. 163B illustrates a managed appearance system where the content is reduced in appearance as it enters a transitional zone near the edge of the field of view.

[0176] FIG. 164 illustrates a hybrid field of view that includes a centered field of view and an extended field of view that is positioned at or near or overlapping with an edge of the centered field of view.

[0177] FIG. 165 illustrates a hybrid display system where the main, centered, field of view is generated with optics in an upper module and the extended field of view is generated with a display system mounted above the combiner.

[0178] FIGS. 166A-166D illustrate examples of extended display, or extended image content optic, configurations.

[0179] FIG. 167 illustrates another optical system that uses a hybrid optical system that includes a main display optical system and an extended field of view optical system.

[0180] FIGS. 168A-168E illustrate various embodiments where a see-through display panel is positioned directly in in front of the user’s eye in the head-worn computer to provide the extended and/or overlapping field of view in a hybrid display system.

[0181] FIG. 169 shows a cross sectional illustration of an example optics assembly for a head worn display in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0182] FIG. 170 shows an illustration of the light trap operating to reduce stray light in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0183] FIG. 171 shows an illustration of a simple optical system that provides a 60 degree display field of view in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0184] FIG. 172 shows a chart of the acuity of a typical human eye relative to the angular position in the field of view.

[0185] FIG. 173 shows a chart of the typical acuity of the human eye vs the eccentricity in a simplified form that highlights the dropoff in acuity with eccentricity along with the difference between achromatic acuity and chromatic acuity.

[0186] FIG. 174A and FIG. 174B show typical charts of angular eye movements and head movements given in radians vs time.

[0187] FIG. 175 is a chart that shows the effective relative achromatic acuity, compared to the acuity of the fovea, provided by a typical human eye within the eye’s field of view when the movement of the eye is included.

[0188] FIG. 176 is a chart that shows the minimum design MTF vs angular field position needed to provide a uniformly sharp looking image in a wide field of view displayed image.

[0189] FIG. 177 is a chart that shows the relative MTF needed to be provided by the display optics for a wide field of view display to provide a sharpness that matches the acuity of the human eye in the peripheral zone of the display field of view.

[0190] FIG. 178 shows a modeled MTF curve associated with the optical system of FIG. 171 wherein MTF curves for a variety of different angular positions within the display field of view are shown.

[0191] FIG. 179 is an illustration of a resolution chart wherein the sharpness of the image has been reduced by blurring the peripheral portion of the image to simulate an image from optics that provide a central sharp zone of +/-15 degrees with a peripheral zone that is less sharp.

[0192] FIGS. 180 and 181 are illustrations that show how the image is shifted within the display field of view as the user moves their head in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0193] FIG. 182 illustrates the blank portion of the display field of view where the image has been shifted away from is displayed as a dark region to enable the user to see-through to the surrounding environment in the blank portion in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0194] FIG. 183 shows an illustration of a wide display field of view, wherein a user can choose to display a smaller field of view for a given image or application (e.g. a game) to improve the personal viewing experience in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0195] FIGS. 184 and 185 should physical arrangements of optical systems in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0196] FIG. 186 shows a 30:9 format field of view and a 22:9 format field of view, wherein the two fields of view have the same vertical field of view and different horizontal field of view in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.

[0197] FIG. 187 illustrates a see-through display system with an undesirable artifact light path.

[0198] FIG. 188 illustrates a see-through display system with a polarization technology adapted to manage an undesirable artifact light path.

[0199] FIG. 189 illustrates a see-through display system with a curved OLED display panel.

[0200] While the disclosure has been described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, other embodiments would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art and are encompassed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

[0201] Aspects of the present disclosure relate to head-worn computing (“HWC”) systems. HWC involves, in some instances, a system that mimics the appearance of head-worn glasses or sunglasses. The glasses may be a fully developed computing platform, such as including computer displays presented in each of the lenses of the glasses to the eyes of the user. In embodiments, the lenses and displays may be configured to allow a person wearing the glasses to see the environment through the lenses while also seeing, simultaneously, digital imagery, which forms an overlaid image that is perceived by the person as a digitally augmented image of the environment, or augmented reality (“AR”).

[0202] HWC involves more than just placing a computing system on a person’s head. The system may need to be designed as a lightweight, compact and fully functional computer display, such as wherein the computer display includes a high resolution digital display that provides a high level of emersion comprised of the displayed digital content and the see-through view of the environmental surroundings. User interfaces and control systems suited to the HWC device may be required that are unlike those used for a more conventional computer such as a laptop. For the HWC and associated systems to be most effective, the glasses may be equipped with sensors to determine environmental conditions, geographic location, relative positioning to other points of interest, objects identified by imaging and movement by the user or other users in a connected group, and the like. The HWC may then change the mode of operation to match the conditions, location, positioning, movements, and the like, in a method generally referred to as a contextually aware HWC. The glasses also may need to be connected, wirelessly or otherwise, to other systems either locally or through a network. Controlling the glasses may be achieved through the use of an external device, automatically through contextually gathered information, through user gestures captured by the glasses sensors, and the like. Each technique may be further refined depending on the software application being used in the glasses. The glasses may further be used to control or coordinate with external devices that are associated with the glasses.

[0203] Referring to FIG. 1, an overview of the HWC system 100 is presented. As shown, the HWC system 100 comprises a HWC 102, which in this instance is configured as glasses to be worn on the head with sensors such that the HWC 102 is aware of the objects and conditions in the environment 114. In this instance, the HWC 102 also receives and interprets control inputs such as gestures and movements 116. The HWC 102 may communicate with external user interfaces 104. The external user interfaces 104 may provide a physical user interface to take control instructions from a user of the HWC 102 and the external user interfaces 104 and the HWC 102 may communicate bi-directionally to affect the user’s command and provide feedback to the external device 108. The HWC 102 may also communicate bi-directionally with externally controlled or coordinated local devices 108. For example, an external user interface 104 may be used in connection with the HWC 102 to control an externally controlled or coordinated local device 108. The externally controlled or coordinated local device 108 may provide feedback to the HWC 102 and a customized GUI may be presented in the HWC 102 based on the type of device or specifically identified device 108. The HWC 102 may also interact with remote devices and information sources 112 through a network connection 110. Again, the external user interface 104 may be used in connection with the HWC 102 to control or otherwise interact with any of the remote devices 108 and information sources 112 in a similar way as when the external user interfaces 104 are used to control or otherwise interact with the externally controlled or coordinated local devices 108. Similarly, HWC 102 may interpret gestures 116 (e.g. captured from forward, downward, upward, rearward facing sensors such as camera(s), range finders, IR sensors, etc.) or environmental conditions sensed in the environment 114 to control either local or remote devices 108 or 112.

[0204] We will now describe each of the main elements depicted on FIG. 1 in more detail; however, these descriptions are intended to provide general guidance and should not be construed as limiting. Additional description of each element may also be further described herein.

[0205] The HWC 102 is a computing platform intended to be worn on a person’s head. The HWC 102 may take many different forms to fit many different functional requirements. In some situations, the HWC 102 will be designed in the form of conventional glasses. The glasses may or may not have active computer graphics displays. In situations where the HWC 102 has integrated computer displays the displays may be configured as see-through displays such that the digital imagery can be overlaid with respect to the user’s view of the environment 114. There are a number of see-through optical designs that may be used, including ones that have a reflective display (e.g. LCoS, DLP), emissive displays (e.g. OLED, LED), hologram, TIR waveguides, and the like. In embodiments, lighting systems used in connection with the display optics may be solid state lighting systems, such as LED, OLED, quantum dot, quantum dot LED, etc. In addition, the optical configuration may be monocular or binocular. It may also include vision corrective optical components. In embodiments, the optics may be packaged as contact lenses. In other embodiments, the HWC 102 may be in the form of a helmet with a see-through shield, sunglasses, safety glasses, goggles, a mask, fire helmet with see-through shield, police helmet with see through shield, military helmet with see-through shield, utility form customized to a certain work task (e.g. inventory control, logistics, repair, maintenance, etc.), and the like.

[0206] The HWC 102 may also have a number of integrated computing facilities, such as an integrated processor, integrated power management, communication structures (e.g. cell net, WiFi, Bluetooth, local area connections, mesh connections, remote connections (e.g. client server, etc.)), and the like. The HWC 102 may also have a number of positional awareness sensors, such as GPS, electronic compass, altimeter, tilt sensor, IMU, and the like. It may also have other sensors such as a camera, rangefinder, hyper-spectral camera, Geiger counter, microphone, spectral illumination detector, temperature sensor, chemical sensor, biologic sensor, moisture sensor, ultrasonic sensor, and the like.