Assessing the binocular advantage in aided vision.

Advances in microsensors, microprocessors, and microdisplays are creating new opportunities for improving vision in degraded environments through the use of head-mounted displays. Initially, the cutting-edge technology used in these new displays will be expensive. Inevitably, the cost of providing the additional sensor and processing required to support binocularity brings the value of binocularity into question. Several assessments comparing binocular, binocular, and monocular head-mounted displays for aided vision have concluded that the additional performance, if any, provided by binocular head-mounted displays does not justify the cost. The selection of a biocular [corrected] display for use in the F-35 is a current example of this recurring decision process. It is possible that the human binocularity advantage does not carry over to the aided vision application, but more likely the experimental approaches used in the past have been too coarse to measure its subtle but important benefits. Evaluating the value of binocularity in aided vision applications requires an understanding of the characteristics of both human vision and head-mounted displays. With this understanding, the value of binocularity in aided vision can be estimated and experimental evidence can be collected to confirm or reject the presumed binocular advantage, enabling improved decisions in aided vision system design. This paper describes four computational approaches-geometry of stereopsis, modulation transfer function area for stereopsis, probability summation, and binocular summation-that may be useful in quantifying the advantage of binocularity in aided vision.

Luminous efficiency and the measurement of daytime displays, signals, and visors.

PURPOSE: Measurements concerning the usability or safety of optical equipment are based on assumptions regarding luminous efficiency. The current luminous efficiency functions are derived from human sensitivity experiments taken at low light levels compared with the outdoor daytime environment. The amount of error induced by extrapolating from low light level data to high light level applications is not known. We sought to determine whether standard luminous efficiency curves CIE V(lambda) and CIE Heterochromatic Brightness Matching are appropriate for measuring day-use optical equipment such as display phosphors, lasers, LEDs, and laser eye protection, which are becoming more common in aviation. METHODS: Flicker photometry and successive heterochromatic brightness matching were used to measure changes in luminance efficiency functions with increasing levels (1, 10, 100, and 1000 fL) of light adaptation. RESULTS: Luminous efficiency was found to depend on both the method and the reference intensity with which the measurements were taken. For heterochromatic brightness matching, luminous efficiency increased for longer wavelengths as reference intensity increased. Peak luminous efficiency shifted from approximately 540 nm to greater than 600 nm with increasing intensity. Peak luminous efficiency was constant for flicker photometry across all intensities, but the function narrowed slightly at 100 fL. CONCLUSION: Luminous efficiency curves measured at high reference intensities are substantially different from the standard luminous efficiency functions. Caution should be used when measuring spectrally narrow and bright sources such as lasers and LEDs with a V(lambda) corrected photometer because the measured luminance may correlate poorly with perceived brightness.

Ocular laser exposure incident reporting.

BACKGROUND: Advances in laser technology are providing opportunities for new laser applications. Once the nearly exclusive province of scientists and the military, lasers are finding increasingly widespread applications in modern life. Along with this increase in applications, it is reasonable to expect a concomitant increase in the number of accidents and occasions of purposeful misuse, resulting in excessive ocular exposures to laser radiation. METHODS: A survey was conducted of databases currently collecting laser exposure and injury information. Those found were then evaluated for content, organization, and ease of use. RESULTS: A number of laser injury databases, privately and publicly funded, were found Overall, information on laser-associated injuries was quite fragmented, showing significant variability in format and content. CONCLUSIONS: Public health policy development and clinical management of eye injuries would benefit from a single, comprehensive, and easily accessible database/information tool such as the U.S. Army's Laser Accident and Incident Registry.