Feeling a little blue: problems with the symbol color blue for see-through displays and an alternative color solution

Kirk Moffitt; Michael P. Browne

doi:10.1117/12.2309653

2 May 2018 Feeling a little blue: problems with the symbol color blue for see-through displays and an alternative color solution

Kirk Moffitt, Michael P. Browne

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10642, Degraded Environments: Sensing, Processing, and Display 2018; 106420M (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2309653
Event: SPIE Defense + Security, 2018, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

The color blue is problematic for inclusion in a symbology color set for use by operators with head-up and helmet-mounted displays (HUDs and HMDs), as well as with augmented reality (AR) displays. The distinguishing feature of these see-through displays is the optical combiner that presents color-coded symbology combined with the forward real-world scene. Unlike head-down displays that can use color fills, see-through displays are limited to lines and text. The presence of high-ambient daylight can desaturate symbol colors and make them difficult to recognize. This is especially true for blue symbols that become faint and colorless in moderate daylight as well as when mixed with green night-vision imagery. We propose the alternative color blue prime (blue')—a mix of 100% blue and 50% green that lies between blue and cyan—as an alternative to blue. The color blue’ is more resistant to daylight than blue, yet still retains the color name “blue.” Blue' lags other colors such as green and white in visibility, and its use needs to be moderated. We present experimental data to support the use of blue’ as a basic color code.

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Kirk Moffitt and Michael P. Browne "Feeling a little blue: problems with the symbol color blue for see-through displays and an alternative color solution", Proc. SPIE 10642, Degraded Environments: Sensing, Processing, and Display 2018, 106420M (2 May 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2309653

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KEYWORDS

Visibility

Heads up displays

Color difference

Head-mounted displays

Optical filters

Cones

Data modeling

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