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[[File:Focal surface display technology.png|thumb|Figure 4. Focal surface display technology. (Image:Matsuda ''et al''., 2017)]]

[[File:Focal surface display technology.png|thumb|Figure 4. Focal surface display technology. (Image:Matsuda ''et al''., 2017)]]

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Focal surface display is a technology developed by [[Oculus]] Research that improves focus on images generated by a [[virtual reality]] (VR) [[head-mounted display]] (HMD) by simulating the way the eyes naturally focus at real object of varying depths (Figure 1). <ref name=”1”>Oculus VR (2017). Oculus Research to present focal surface display discovery at SIGGRAPH. Retrieved from https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-research-to-present-focal-surface-display-discovery-at-siggraph/</ref>

A '''focal surface display''' is a type of display created by [[Oculus]] Research that improves focus on images generated by a [[virtual reality]] (VR) [[head-mounted display]] (HMD) by simulating the way the eyes naturally focus at real object of varying depths (Figure 1). <ref name=”1”>Oculus VR (2017). Oculus Research to present focal surface display discovery at SIGGRAPH. Retrieved from https://www.oculus.com/blog/oculus-research-to-present-focal-surface-display-discovery-at-siggraph/</ref>

While modern VR experiences are superior to what they were just a few years ago, the Oculus focal surface display addresses a perceptual limitation of current HMDs: not being able to display scene content at correct focal depths. These HMDs have a fixed-focus accommodation determined by the headset’s eyepiece focal length. Although they give the illusion of depth from the stereo images, the images are essentially flat, at a fixed perceived distance from the face and with a focus selected by the software instead of the eyes. Scene content with a virtual distance from the viewer different than the fixed focal distance of the headset’s screen will lead to a [[vergence-accommodation conflict]] - arising from binocular disparity cues (vergence) in conflict with focus cues (accommodation). The vergence-accommodation conflict prevents the VR content scenes from appearing sharply in focus and may contribute to user’s fatigue and discomfort. <ref name=”2”>Comp Photo Lab. Focal surface displays. Retrieved from http://compphotolab.northwestern.edu/project/focal-surface-displays/</ref><ref name=”3”>Miller, P. (2017). Oculus Research's focal surface display could make VR much more comfortable for our eyeballs. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/5/19/15667172/oculus-research-focal-surface-display-vr-comfort-eye-tracking</ref><ref name=”4”>Coppock, M. (2017). Oculus developing ‘focal surface display’ for better VR image clarity. Retrieved from https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/oculus-working-on-focal-surface-display-technology-for-improved-visual-clarity</ref>

While modern VR experiences are superior to what they were just a few years ago, the Oculus focal surface display addresses a perceptual limitation of current HMDs: not being able to display scene content at correct focal depths. These HMDs have a fixed-focus accommodation determined by the headset’s eyepiece focal length. Although they give the illusion of depth from the stereo images, the images are essentially flat, at a fixed perceived distance from the face and with a focus selected by the software instead of the eyes. Scene content with a virtual distance from the viewer different than the fixed focal distance of the headset’s screen will lead to a [[vergence-accommodation conflict]] - arising from binocular disparity cues (vergence) in conflict with focus cues (accommodation). The vergence-accommodation conflict prevents the VR content scenes from appearing sharply in focus and may contribute to user’s fatigue and discomfort. <ref name=”2”>Comp Photo Lab. Focal surface displays. Retrieved from http://compphotolab.northwestern.edu/project/focal-surface-displays/</ref><ref name=”3”>Miller, P. (2017). Oculus Research's focal surface display could make VR much more comfortable for our eyeballs. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/5/19/15667172/oculus-research-focal-surface-display-vr-comfort-eye-tracking</ref><ref name=”4”>Coppock, M. (2017). Oculus developing ‘focal surface display’ for better VR image clarity. Retrieved from https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/oculus-working-on-focal-surface-display-technology-for-improved-visual-clarity</ref>