Towards an objective and affordable metric of display system resolution
ABSTRACT Camera-based measures of display system resolution were developed decades ago and were used in the military simulation training industry as early as the late 60s. Metrics based on these measurements, such as the modulation transfer function area (MTFA) and square root integral (SQRI), received much research attention and were shown to correlate well with a range of visual task performances. However, in the mid 80s the camera-based metrics fell out of use and were replaced by subjective assessments using grating patterns. This paper summarizes those attributes of the early measures that contributed to their demise including; cost, complexity, difficulty of measuring from the eyepoint, and lack of consideration of sampling artifacts. The paper goes on to discuss the relationships among the various measures commonly associated with “resolution” including; pixel pitch, addressability, spot size / line width, sampling rate, optical blur, and MTF. A description is provided of a practical and affordable camera-based metric of display system resolution that addresses sampling artifacts and the benefits of antialiasing. The use of the proposed metric to measure display system resolution from the eyepoint is described and illustrated by examples.

VITA Dr. Charles J. Lloyd, Ph.D. is president of Visual Performance LLC where he addresses research and development challenges relating to training display system requirements. He has 27 years of experience in display systems and applied vision research at such organizations as Honeywell’s Advanced Displays Group, The Lighting Research Center, BARCO Projection Systems, FlightSafety International, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Charles has published 70 papers in this arena.