Image Warping for Enhancing Consumer Applications of Head-mounted Displays

Head-mounted displays (HMDs) are highly immersive display devices which are increasingly targeted towards consumer-level video games, E-learning, training and other forms of digital entertainment. Despite the hardware now being available, quality factors — particularly latency — are still issues in large part due to consumer graphics hardware being tailored for throughput instead of latency, and the expectation of a nausea-free experience even on weak hardware. In this paper we discuss the benefits and disadvantages of using image warping as a means to improve frame rate and latency in the context of consumer applications. As part of this, we suggest two appropriate algorithms for performing the image warping. These methods are compatible with other latency reduction strategies such as predictive tracking, and require minimal changes to conventional 3D rendering processes. In addition, they are implemented purely in software and are therefore suitable for use on existing consumer PCs and HMDs. Initial evaluations indicate that artefacts from both warping algorithms are minimally visible for typical environments.