G Wetzstein, D Lanman, M Hirsch, W Heidrich, R Raskar

Abstract

Light fields are the multiview extension of stereo image pairs: a collection of images showing a 3D scene from slightly different perspectives. Depicting high-resolution light fields usually requires an excessively large display bandwidth; compressive light field displays are enabled by the codesign of optical elements and computational-processing algorithms. Rather than pursuing a direct “optical” solution (for example, adding one more pixel to support the emission of one additional light ray), compressive displays aim to create flexible optical systems that can synthesize a compressed target light field. In effect, each pixel emits a superposition of light rays. Through compression and tailored optical designs, fewer display pixels are necessary to emit a given light field than a direct optical solution would require.