Enhanced VR Battery Life through Perception-Guided Color Encoding

Innovative VR display power reduction using color perception technology, which enhances battery life without sacrificing visual quality

Institute Reference: 1-24019

Background

The rapid advancement of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies has resulted in a growing demand for higher resolution, faster refresh rates, and improved dynamic ranges. These advancements, however, have led to increased power consumption, which is a critical concern for untethered VR/AR devices due to their limited battery capacity. For instance, some of the current VR headsets on the market only last 2-3 hours on a full charge.

Technology Overview

Researchers at New York University and the University of Rochester have developed a novel color-perception-guided display power reduction method specifically for VR devices. This technology leverages human color perception, which varies across the visual field, to selectively adjust the color output of the display. By applying a gaze-contingent shader, the system modulates the display's color palette to reduce power consumption while maintaining visual fidelity. The technology is based on two key insights:

1. Different colors on LEDs have varying power costs even with unchanged luminance levels.
2. Human color sensitivity decreases in peripheral vision and during active viewing.

Further Details:

• https://doi.org/10.1145/3550454.3555473

Benefits

• Extended Battery Life: Reduces VR display power consumption by up to 24%, extending the battery life of untethered VR devices.
• High Visual Fidelity: Maintains the visual quality of the VR content, ensuring a seamless and immersive user experience.
• Real-time Performance: Implemented as a real-time shader, the technology can be integrated into existing VR systems without significant performance overhead.
• Versatile Application: Can be applied to a wide range of natural images and VR content.

Applications

• Untethered VR/AR Devices: Enhancing the battery life of devices like Oculus Quest 2 and HTC Vive Pro Eye.
• Mobile VR Headsets: Improving power efficiency for mobile VR applications, making them more practical for longer usage periods.
• Wearable Displays: Potential application in wearable AR displays, where battery efficiency is crucial for extended use.