Consideration of blue light hazard for virtual reality head mounted displays

Virtual reality (VR) introduces new approaches to creating virtual spaces for empirical studies and design processes. At the same time, VR platforms for research and education purposes in the field of daylight, such as one being built at TU Berlin, have to consider technical limitations. Besides the imperfections caused by simulation tools, VR head mounted displays (VR HMDs) bring additional shortcomings, one of the most obvious being the low maximum luminance compared to daylight. However, considering a typical viewing distance within VR HMDs is about 15 mm, and a usage duration can last up to 8 hours or more, concerns have arisen about the safety of displays with high luminance levels, particularly as a prototype claiming a maximum luminance of up to 6 000 cd/m2 has been introduced in the last years. Therefore, this paper compares the blue light hazard (BLH)-weighted radiances of VR HMDs to given exposure limits provided by the ICNIRP guidelines on limits of exposure to incoherent visible and infrared radiation and by the IEC 62471 (photobiological safety of lamps and lamp systems). The paper concludes with a statement on the BLH safety of VR HMDs.