The invention relates to a method of manufacturing a screen comprising transparent portions and retroreflective portions distributed over all or part of the surface thereof.

In various embodiments, a backlighting device is provided. The backlighting device may include a plurality of semiconductor light sources arranged in a plane and serving for generating light radiation, and a side wall arranged laterally with respect to the semiconductor light sources, where the side wall is inclined with respect to the plane predefined by the semiconductor light sources, and wherein the side wall is retroreflective at a side which can be irradiated with light radiation of the semiconductor light sources.

In various embodiments, a backlighting device is provided. The backlighting device may include a plurality of semiconductor light sources arranged in a plane and serving for generating light radiation, and a side wall arranged laterally with respect to the semiconductor light sources, where the side wall is inclined with respect to the plane predefined by the semiconductor light sources, and wherein the side wall is retroreflective at a side which can be irradiated with light radiation of the semiconductor light sources.

An improved virtual reality system comprising an immersive sound system, sensors, a power source, communications, data processing, and an optical system that delivers photoreceptor density resolution, wide angle, high contrast, binocular vision, continuous depth of field images, is integrated for a fully immersive experience. In one embodiment, an optical system comprises a miniaturized array of projectors geometrically arranged to cover the photoreceptive areas of the retina. The projectors provide full spectrum, amplitude modulated, and controllably divergent beams of light that can be steered with one or more degrees of freedom. These beams are subsequently reflected off a compound curved reflector, through additional optics, and along reversible light paths to form images on the retina. Segmented projector arrays greatly improve dynamic performance. In another embodiment, an adaptive optics reflector is comprised of an array of fixed, or independently controllable optical elements, that can alter reflected beam properties such that a virtual object may appear to be nearer to, or further from the viewer. In yet another embodiment, a direct projection, two dimensional array of micro projectors are positioned to deliver a fully immersive image directly into the eye. Binocular embodiments can elicit an accurate vergence-accommodation reflex, produce stabilized images that are closely synchronized with the vestibulo-ocular reflex, and create lifelike binocular disparities that produce a faithful sense of stereopsis, an important factor for the avoidance of virtual reality motion sickness.

An improved virtual reality system comprising an immersive sound system, sensors, a power source, communications, data processing, and an optical system that delivers photoreceptor density resolution, wide angle, high contrast, binocular vision, continuous depth of field images, is integrated for a fully immersive experience. In one embodiment, an optical system comprises a miniaturized array of projectors geometrically arranged to cover the photoreceptive areas of the retina. The projectors provide full spectrum, amplitude modulated, and controllably divergent beams of light that can be steered with one or more degrees of freedom. These beams are subsequently reflected off a compound curved reflector, through additional optics, and along reversible light paths to form images on the retina. Segmented projector arrays greatly improve dynamic performance. In another embodiment, an adaptive optics reflector is comprised of an array of fixed, or independently controllable optical elements, that can alter reflected beam properties such that a virtual object may appear to be nearer to, or further from the viewer. In yet another embodiment, a direct projection, two dimensional array of micro projectors are positioned to deliver a fully immersive image directly into the eye. Binocular embodiments can elicit an accurate vergence-accommodation reflex, produce stabilized images that are closely synchronized with the vestibulo-ocular reflex, and create lifelike binocular disparities that produce a faithful sense of stereopsis, an important factor for the avoidance of virtual reality motion sickness.

An optical film includes a cholesteric liquid crystal layer formed in a stripe-shaped pattern in which an optically anisotropic region having optical anisotropy and an optically isotropic region having optical isotropy are alternately disposed, a helical axis of a cholesteric liquid crystal in the optically anisotropic region is oriented in one axial direction tin a plane of the optical film, and the helical axis is oriented in a normal direction t of a boundary surface between the optically anisotropic region and the optically isotropic region.

In some examples, a system includes: at least one light capture device; an article of personal protective equipment (PPE) that includes a plurality of retroreflective elements embodied on a surface of the article of PPE in a spatially defined arrangement, each retroreflective element of the plurality of retroreflective elements having at least two different retroreflective properties; a computing device communicatively coupled to the at least one light capture device, wherein the computing device is configured to: receive, from the at least one light capture device, retroreflected light that indicates at least two different retroreflective properties of at least one retroreflective element of the plurality of retroreflective elements; determine, based at least in part on each of the at least two different retroreflective properties, a safety event; and perform at least one operation based at least in part on the safety event.

Retroreflective articles include a layer of optical elements, and a bead bond layer (140). The optical elements include transparent microspheres (110), a transparent polymeric polyurethane layer (120), and at least one reflective layer (130), where the transparent polymeric polyurethane layer (120) comprises a dried layer prepared from an aqueous polyurethane dispersion. The retroreflective articles have improved wash durability.

An illumination apparatus includes a reflective shell, a front cover, a light-emitting device, and a plurality of optical micro-structures. The front cover is connected to the reflective shell. A containing space is formed between the reflective shell and the front cover. The light-emitting device is disposed in the containing space and is configured to emit a light beam. The optical micro-structures are disposed on at least one of the reflective shell and the front cover. Each of the optical micro-structures is a multilayer stair-structure. The optical micro-structures diffuse the light beam by refraction and reflection.

Optical articles including a spatially defined arrangement of a plurality of data rich retroreflective elements, wherein the plurality of retroreflective elements comprise retroreflective elements having at least two different retroreflective properties and at least two different optical contrasts with respect to a background substrate when observed within an ultraviolet spectrum, a visible spectrum, a near-infrared spectrum, or a combination thereof.