Systems and methods to confirm that an autostereoscopic display is accurately aimed

Abstract

A autostereoscopic display system includes an autostereoscopic display configured to project images representing a left-eye view and a right-eye view of an image, an emitter configured to emit a tracer beam having a directional relationship to that of the projected images, a sensor configured to detect reflections of the tracer beam, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to control an emission of the tracer beam, receive feedback data from the sensor, use the feedback data to determine an impact site on the viewer corresponding to the tracer beam and adjust a direction of the tracer beam based on the impact site.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An autostereoscopic display system comprising:
 a processing circuit configured to:
 control an adjustable autostereoscopic display to selectively project images representing a left-eye view and a right-eye view of an image; 
 control an emitter to emit a tracer beam when at least one of the left-eye view and the right-eye view of the image are not projected; 
 receive feedback data from a sensor configured to detect reflections of the tracer beam; 
 determine an impact site of the tracer beam based on the feedback data; and 
 adjust a direction of the tracer beam based on the impact site. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor includes a camera. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tracer beam is emitted in a direction that is the same as the projected images representing the left-eye view. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tracer beam is emitted in a direction that is the same as the projected images representing the right-eye view. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tracer beam is emitted in a direction that is between the projected images representing the left-eye view and right-eye view. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tracer beam is emitted in a direction that is above the projected images representing the left-eye view and right-eye view. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tracer beam is emitted in a direction that is below the projected images representing the left-eye view and right-eye view. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tracer beam comprises at least one of infrared light, ultraviolet light, and visible light of a narrow-bandwidth. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the tracer beam comprises a pulse of light. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein emission of the tracer beam is controlled based on a timing pattern, the timing pattern based on a schedule. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to:
 determine at least one of a left-eye location and a right-eye location of the viewer;   determine an aiming point corresponding to at least one of the left-eye location and the right-eye location; and   adjust the adjustable autostereoscopic display using the aiming point.   
     
     
         12 . A method of aiming stereoscopic images, the method comprising:
 controlling an emitter of an adjustable autostereoscopic display that selectively projects images representing a left-eye view and a right-eye view of an image, wherein controlling the emitter comprises emitting a tracer beam when at least one of the left-eye view and the right-eye view of the image are not projected;   receiving feedback data from a sensor configured to detect reflections of the tracer beam;   determining an impact site of the tracer beam based on the feedback data; and   adjusting the tracer beam based on the impact site.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 determining at least one of a left-eye location and a right-eye location of the viewer;   determining an aiming point corresponding to at least one of the left-eye location and the right-eye location; and   adjusting the adjustable autostereoscopic display using the aiming point.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising determining an offset using the aiming point and a direction of at least one of the projected images representing the left-eye view and the right-eye view. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising calibrating the adjustable autostereoscopic display to adjust the offset using the impact site. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the calibration is based on an activation of the adjustable autostereoscopic display. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the calibration occurs according to a time limit. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the calibration occurs according to a schedule. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the calibration occurs according to a calibration monitoring system of the adjustable autostereoscopic display. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the calibration occurs according to a user command. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the adjustable autostereoscopic display includes a lenticular array. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the adjustable autostereoscopic display includes a parallax-barrier. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the adjustable autostereoscopic display includes optical splitters. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising controlling emissions of a plurality of tracer beams, wherein each tracer beam comprises light. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the emissions of the plurality of tracer beams are controlled individually. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 24 , wherein the emissions of the plurality of tracer beams are controlled in aggregate. 
     
     
         27 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions configured to be executed to cause a processing circuit to:
 control an emission of a tracer beam when an adjustable autostereoscopic display configured to selectively project images representing a left-eye view and a right-eye view of an image does not project at least one of the left-eye view and the right-eye view of the image;   receive feedback data from a sensor configured to detect reflections of the tracer beam;   determine an impact site of the tracer beam based on the feedback data; and   adjust the tracer beam based on the impact site.   
     
     
         28 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the tracer beam comprises at least one of infrared light, ultraviolet light, and visible light of a narrow-bandwidth. 
     
     
         29 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the tracer beam is of an intensity greater than a maximum intensity of the images representing the left-eye view and the right-eye view. 
     
     
         30 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the instructions are further configured to be executed to cause the processing circuit to control emissions of a plurality of tracer beams, wherein each tracer beam comprises light. 
     
     
         31 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 30 , wherein the emissions of the plurality of tracer beams are controlled either individually or in aggregate. 
     
     
         32 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of  claim 27 , wherein the tracer beam is a non-visible tracer beam.