Light Field Retargeting for Multi-Panel Displays

Abstract

Light fields preserve angular information which can be retargeted to multi-panel depth displays. Due to limited aperture size and constrained spatial-angular sampling of many light field capture systems, the displayed light fields provide only a narrow viewing zone in which parallax views can be supported. In addition, multi-panel displays typically have a reduced number of panels being able to coarsely sample depth content resulting in a layered appearance of light fields. We propose a light field retargeting technique for multi-panel displays that enhances the perceived parallax and achieves seamless transition over different depths and viewing angles. This is accomplished by slicing the captured light fields according to their depth content, boosting the parallax, and blending the results across the panels. Displayed views are synthesized and aligned dynamically according to the position of the viewer. The proposed technique is outlined, simulated and verified experimentally on a three-panel aerial display.