Abstract
The Virtual Retinal Display (VRD) is a new display technology that scans modulated low energy laser light directly onto the viewer's retina to create a perception of a virtual image. This approach provides an unprecedented way to stream photons to the receptors of the eye, affording higher resolution, increased luminance, and potentially a wider field-of-view than previously possible in head coupled displays. The VRD uses video signals from a graphics board or a video camera to modulate low power coherent light from a red laser diode. A mechanical resonant scanner and galvanometer mirror then scan the photon stream from the laser diode in two dimensions through reflective elements and semitransparent combiner such that a raster of light is imaged on the retina. The pixels produced on the retina have no persistence, yet they create the perception of a brilliant full color, and flicker-free virtual image. Developmental models of the VRD have been shown to produce VGA and SVGA image quality. This demonstration exhibits the portable monochrome VRD
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