James Fong

EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley

Technical Report No. UCB/EECS-2021-151

May 21, 2021

http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2021/EECS-2021-151.pdf

A color is "impossible" if there is no light spectra which can produce it. To see an impossible color would be to experience an entirely new perception, not unlike a colorblind individual seeing color for the first time. Under the assumption that color is a function of a light's spectral power distribution, it is absurd to consider seeing impossible colors. However, this assumption breaks down at the cellular level. We should be able to reproduce the entire range of human visual perception by directly modifying the activity levels of light-sensitive cells in the eye. In this thesis, we exploit the eye's cellular structure and achieve multiple color percepts from a single wavelength of laser light. This goes a step beyond traditional displays, which exploit only the spectral basis behind color. If impossible colors exist, this advancement could actually expand the range of human visual perception, not only just reproduce it. We call this technology an "Oz Vision" display, in reference to a fictional city filled with brilliant colors which cannot be seen anywhere else. Building this Oz Vision display is a significant engineering challenge. Firstly, it must non-invasively work around the eye's numerous physiological barriers in order to access the individual cells responsible for color vision. Secondly, as with any ordinary display, the Oz Vision display must be easily controllable by an end user to present a variety of graphics within the new perceptual space it offers. We achieve both goals through Wizard: our newly developed software control layer built on top of an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO). We present Wizard alongside key preliminary experimental results that validate the software's correctness and demonstrate the potential for exploiting the spatial characteristics of color. We anticipate that this work will establish a new frontier in display technology and visual psychophysics research.

Advisors: Ren Ng

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BibTeX citation:

@mastersthesis{Fong:EECS-2021-151,
    Author= {Fong, James},
    Editor= {Ng, Ren and Roorda, Austin},
    Title= {How to See Impossible Colors: First Steps Toward the Oz Vision Display},
    School= {EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley},
    Year= {2021},
    Month= {May},
    Url= {http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2021/EECS-2021-151.html},
    Number= {UCB/EECS-2021-151},
    Abstract= {A color is "impossible" if there is no light spectra which can produce it. To see an impossible color would be to experience an entirely new perception, not unlike a colorblind individual seeing color for the first time. Under the assumption that color is a function of a light's spectral power distribution, it is absurd to consider seeing impossible colors. However, this assumption breaks down at the cellular level. We should be able to reproduce the entire range of human visual perception by directly modifying the activity levels of light-sensitive cells in the eye. In this thesis, we exploit the eye's cellular structure and achieve multiple color percepts from a single wavelength of laser light. This goes a step beyond traditional displays, which exploit only the spectral basis behind color. If impossible colors exist, this advancement could actually expand the range of human visual perception, not only just reproduce it. We call this technology an "Oz Vision" display, in reference to a fictional city filled with brilliant colors which cannot be seen anywhere else. Building this Oz Vision display is a significant engineering challenge. Firstly, it must non-invasively work around the eye's numerous physiological barriers in order to access the individual cells responsible for color vision. Secondly, as with any ordinary display, the Oz Vision display must be easily controllable by an end user to present a variety of graphics within the new perceptual space it offers. We achieve both goals through Wizard: our newly developed software control layer built on top of an adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO). We present Wizard alongside key preliminary experimental results that validate the software's correctness and demonstrate the potential for exploiting the spatial characteristics of color. We anticipate that this work will establish a new frontier in display technology and visual psychophysics research.},
}

EndNote citation:

%0 Thesis
%A Fong, James 
%E Ng, Ren 
%E Roorda, Austin 
%T How to See Impossible Colors: First Steps Toward the Oz Vision Display
%I EECS Department, University of California, Berkeley
%D 2021
%8 May 21
%@ UCB/EECS-2021-151
%U http://www2.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2021/EECS-2021-151.html
%F Fong:EECS-2021-151