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  • Nov
    11

    Florian Schiffers Final Defense Monday, November 11th

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    11:00 AM

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    Florian Schiffers Final Defense Monday, November 11th

    Seeing Beyond Pixels: Holography's Mission to Craft the Ultimate Visual Experience

    As VR and AR continue to emerge as next-generation computing platforms, current display technologies face significant limitations that restrict viewer comfort and hinder broader adoption. A major challenge is the accommodation-vergence conflict, which makes it difficult to create virtual images that convincingly mimic real-world visuals—a benchmark often referred to as the 'Visual Turing Test.' This thesis explores how holographic displays can overcome these fundamental limitations, addressing critical obstacles including the lack of algorithms for accurate 3D scene reconstruction with proper depth cues and motion parallax, trade-offs between field-of-view and viewing angle due to limited space-bandwidth product, and coherent speckle noise that significantly degrades perceptual quality.

    During my defense, we will first review the state-of-the-art in holographic display technology, establishing the foundation for our contributions. We then introduce a novel algorithm that enforces accurate reconstruction of 3D content with correct motion parallax and depth cues. Building on this, we propose methods to overcome spatial and angular resolution limitations by introducing novel optical elements into the system that are designed using ML-principles. We then present two complementary approaches to noise reduction in holographic displays. First, we introduce a novel hardware-software co-design that significantly reduces noise without sacrificing temporal or spatial bandwidth using angular diversity in illumination. Second, we demonstrate that similar noise reduction can be achieved through polychromatic illumination, offering an alternative path to high-quality display. Each proposed solution is validated through both rigorous simulations and experimental prototypes, demonstrating practical viability in real-world conditions.

    The methods presented in this thesis not only address current limitations in holographic display technology but also provide a foundation for the next wave of research in computational displays and AI-assisted optical system design, where machine learning techniques can further optimize both the optical and computational components of holographic displays. These advances bring holographic displays closer to meeting the demanding requirements of consumer AR/VR applications.

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    TIME Monday, November 11, 2024 at 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    13

    CS Seminar: Reaching Escape Velocity for Layer-3 Innovation: Deployability of a Next-generation Internet Architecture (Adrian Perrig)

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    3:00 PM 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

    LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)    map it

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    18

    Foundations of Fairness and Accountability

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    9:00 AM 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)

    EVENT DETAILSmore info

    TIME Monday, November 18, 2024 at 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

    LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)    map it

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    CONTACT Indira Munoz    indira.munoz@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    18

    CS Distinguished Lecture: The Ultimate Video Camera (Kyros Kutulakos)

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    12:00 PM 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Monday, November 18, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

    LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)    map it

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    20

    IDEAL Workshop on Harmonious Human-AI Ecosystems

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    8:30 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

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    CONTACT Indira Munoz    indira.munoz@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    20

    IDEAL Workshop on Harmonious Human-AI Ecosystems

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    8:30 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

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    CONTACT Indira Munoz    indira.munoz@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    21

    IDEAL Workshop on Harmonious Human-AI Ecosystems

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    8:30 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

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    CONTACT Indira Munoz    indira.munoz@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    21

    IDEAL Workshop on Harmonious Human-AI Ecosystems

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    8:30 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

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    CONTACT Indira Munoz    indira.munoz@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    21

    Bagel Thursday

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    9:00 AM 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

    LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)    map it

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    22

    IDEAL Workshop on Harmonious Human-AI Ecosystems

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    8:30 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, November 22, 2024 at 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

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    CONTACT Indira Munoz    indira.munoz@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Nov
    22

    IDEAL Workshop on Harmonious Human-AI Ecosystems

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    8:30 AM

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Friday, November 22, 2024 at 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

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    CONTACT Indira Munoz    indira.munoz@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Dec
    4

    CS Distinguished Lecture: Enabling Diverse and Interconnected Data Ecosystems with Lakehouses, Open Formats and AI(Michael Franklin)

    Department of Computer Science (CS)

    12:00 PM 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

    LOCATION 3514, Mudd Hall ( formerly Seeley G. Mudd Library)    map it

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    CONTACT Wynante R Charles    wynante.charles@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR Department of Computer Science (CS)

  • Dec
    7

    Fall classes end

    University Academic Calendar

    All Day

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Saturday, December 7, 2024

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    CONTACT Office of the Registrar    nu-registrar@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR University Academic Calendar

  • Dec
    14

    Northwestern Engineering PhD Hooding and Master's Recognition Ceremony

    McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science

    4:00 PM Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

    EVENT DETAILS

    TIME Saturday, December 14, 2024 at 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

    LOCATION Pick-Staiger Concert Hall    map it

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    CONTACT Andi Joppie    andi.joppie@northwestern.edu EMAIL

    CALENDAR McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science