Fundamentals of Wearable Computers and Augmented Reality, 2nd Edition

64 Fundamentals of Wearable Computers and Augmented Reality

partially transmissive and reective optical device, typically half-silvered mirror.

The real world is left almost intact through the optical combiner, while the synthetic

image is optically overlaid on the real image. In most optical see-through HMDs, the

optical combiner is normally placed at the end of the optical path just in front of the

user’s eyes. In the case of a half-silvered mirror, the real scene is simply seen through

it, whereas the synthetic imagery is reected on it. The imaging device should not

block the real environment from the eyes. Instead, it is normally located ...