3D battlespace visualization and defense applications on commercial and use-case-dedicated light field displays

Light field visualization technology has started emerging through commercially-available devices, and while its appearance on the consumer market is somewhat already on the horizon, the day light field displays integrate into our quotidian activities is still yet to come. However, just because light field displays are not part of our everyday lives yet, that does not mean that they do not already contribute to professional usage contexts. One such use case category is defense applications, where the daunting development and manufacturing expenses of these devices do not really intimidate the available budget. In fact, modern warfare is heavily investing into novel visualization technologies and cutting-edge innovations for both those who serve on the battlefield and those who devise strategic maneuvers and tactical decisions. The latter is essentially the process of making decisions based on a vast amount of data. The success of such process is fundamentally affected by the efficiency of the delivery of the available and the projected information. In this paper, we present our work on light field battlespace visualization and other relevant applications of light field for defense and warfare purposes. Beside conventional approaches, we propose multiple alternative solutions that best fit the investigated use cases. Our work prioritizes visualization quality and user interaction. Regarding system attributes, particular attention is paid to the field of view and the angular resolution of such devices. We separately address the utilization of commercial devices and the use-case-centric design of dedicated hardware.