Development of Head-Mounted Projection Displays for Networked, Collaborative, Augmented Reality Applications

Networked technologies supporting distributed 3D visualization and social collaboration will be increasing in frequency and type over time. An emerging type of headmounted display referred to as the Head-Mounted Projection Display (HMPD) was recently developed to only require ultra-light optics (i.e. less than 8 g per eye) that enables immersive multi-user, mobile augmented reality 3D visualization, as well as remote 3D distributed collaborations. In this paper a review of the development of light-weight HMPD technology is provided, together with insight into what makes this technology so unique. Two novel emerging HMPD-based technologies are then described: a teleportal HMPD (T-HMPD) enabling face-toface communication and visualization of 3D shared virtual objects, and a mobile HMPD (MHMPD) designed for outdoor wearable visualization and communication. Finally, the use of HMPD in medical visualization and training, as well as infospaces, two applications developed in the O.D.A. and M.I.N.D Labs respectively, are discussed.