ChromaCorrect: Prescription Correction in Virtual Reality Headsets through Perceptual Guidance

TL;DR

ChromaCorrect introduces a software-based method to correct prescription vision impairments in VR headsets by optimizing rendered images through a differentiable perception model, eliminating the need for physical glasses and enhancing visual quality.

Contribution

This work presents a novel prescription-aware rendering approach that shifts optical correction into software using a differentiable perception model, enabling glasses-free sharp VR imagery.

Findings

Significant quality improvements for users with vision impairments.

Effective on various displays including desktops and VR headsets.

Enhanced contrast and sharpness in rendered images.

Abstract

A large portion of today's world population suffer from vision impairments and wear prescription eyeglasses. However, eyeglasses causes additional bulk and discomfort when used with augmented and virtual reality headsets, thereby negatively impacting the viewer's visual experience. In this work, we remedy the usage of prescription eyeglasses in Virtual Reality (VR) headsets by shifting the optical complexity completely into software and propose a prescription-aware rendering approach for providing sharper and immersive VR imagery. To this end, we develop a differentiable display and visual perception model encapsulating display-specific parameters, color and visual acuity of human visual system and the user-specific refractive errors. Using this differentiable visual perception model, we optimize the rendered imagery in the display using stochastic gradient-descent solvers. This way, we provide prescription glasses-free sharper images for a person with vision impairments. We evaluate our approach on various displays, including desktops and VR headsets, and show significant quality and contrast improvements for users with vision impairments.