Head-Mounted Displays: Design and Applications

Level: Introductory Length: 7 hours Format: In-Person Lecture Intended Audience: Software developers, hardware engineers, scientists, researchers, technicians, or managers who wish to learn the fundamentals of the specification, design, and use of head-mounted displays. Description: Head-mounted displays (HMD) and the military counterpart helmet-mounted displays, are personal information-viewing devices that can provide information in a way that no other display can. By making the imagery reactive to head and body movements we replicate the way humans view, navigate and explore the world. This unique ability lends itself to Virtual and Augmented Reality applications for creating artificial environments, for medical visualization as an aid in surgical procedures, for military vehicles for viewing sensor imagery, for aircraft simulation and training, and for fixed and rotary wing avionics displays. The advent of high resolution microdisplays, the invention of new optical designs like waveguides and freeform eyepieces, and the significant advances in optical manufacturing techniques mean that head mounted displays can be produced now that were not possible five years ago. Key to the development and adoption of these systems is the understanding of the fundamental requirements, derived from a human factors-centric approach to HMD system design. The authors, with a combined experience of over 50 years, will identify the key performance parameters necessary to understand the specification, design and selection of HMD systems and help students understand how to separate the hype from reality in evaluating new display technologies. This course covers design fundamentals for HMDs from a user's point of view starting with the basics of human perception, head and neck biomechanics, image sources, optical design and head mounting. We will also discuss the impact of user task requirements and applications on various HMD parameters, as well as a detailed discussion of HMD optical designs (pupil and non-pupil forming, see-through and non-see-through, monocular and binocular, exit pupil and eye relief). From there we will delve into various image source technologies, discussing advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches and methods for producing color imagery, with their implications in the near-eye presentation of imagery. We will also discuss head/neck anatomy and biomechanics and the implications of HMD weight and center of gravity on user comfort and safety as well as guidelines for preventing eye fatigue, neck strain, cybersickness and other adverse physiological effects that have been attributed to poor HMD design. Throughout the course, we will use examples of current HMD systems and hardware to illustrate these issues. This course will evaluate the performance of various HMD systems and give students the basic tools necessary to understand important parameters, whether they are designing or purchasing them. This is an introductory class and assumes no background in head mounted displays or optical design. Learning Outcomes: This course will enable you to: - evaluate tradeoffs for critical display performance parameters - describe important features and enabling technologies of an HMD and their impact on user performance and acceptance - list basic features of the human visual system and biomechanical attributes of the head and neck and the guidelines to follow to prevent fatigue or strain - identify key user-oriented performance requirements and link their impact on HMD design parameters - identify key tradeoffs for monocular and binocular systems - classify current image source technologies and their methods for producing color imagery - describe methods of producing wide field of view, high resolution HMDs - define basic components and attributes of head-mounted displays and visually coupled systems Instructor(s): James E. Melzer consultant specializing in the design and development of head- and helmet-mounted displays for flight, simulation, medical and enterprise applications. He previously held positions as Director of Advanced Technology at Thales Visionix and as Technical Fellow at Rockwell Collins. He holds a BS from Loyola University of Los Angeles and an SM from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has extensive experience in optical and displays engineering, visual human factors, and is an expert head-mounted display and sensor systems. His research interests are in visual and auditory perception and in bio-inspired applications of invertebrate vision and animal navigation. He has authored over 50 technical papers, books and book chapters and holds eleven patents in head-mounted display design. Michael P. Browne is the Founder and President of Vision Products, LLC in Campbell, California. Mike previously was a General Manager at SA Photonics, where he assisted in the development, growth and sale of SA Photonics (to CACI International). He has a Ph.D. in Optical Engineering from the University of Arizona's Optical Sciences Center. Mike has been involved in the design, test and measurement of augmented reality systems since 1991. At Kaiser Electronics, Mike led the design of numerous augmented reality head mounted displays systems including those for the RAH-66 Comanche helicopter and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Mike also invented one of the first head-mounted "virtual workstations", in the 1990s, for interacting with data in a virtual space. Mike leads Vision Products' programs for the design and development of person-mounted information systems, including body-worn electronics, head-mounted displays and night vision systems. He led the development of the world’s first integrated day/night digital night vision display, the world’s largest field of view high resolution augmented reality display, and the world’s first light secure augmented reality display. Event: SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing 2025 Course Held: 16 April 2025