Frequency-domain segmentation algorithm for three-dimensional light-field display based on pixel deviation threshold

•A frequency-domain segmentation algorithm to reduce the pixel deviation and enhanced sharpness is proposed.•The pixel deviation threshold is proposed to segment 3D scenes in frequency-domain along the depth.•The simulations and experiments confirm that the proposed method provides higher-quality images. The three-dimensional (3D) light-field display technology with full-parallax is an inevitable future development trend, however, still suffered from pixel deviation effect. Although depth-priority arrangement and fitting algorithm have been investigated to address it, both have caused a decrease in the resolution or sharpness, respectively. In this paper, a frequency-domain segmentation algorithm based on the pixel deviation threshold is demonstrated to reconstruct high sharpness and the resolution of 3D light-field images without pixel deviation. This algorithm segments the 3D images in references to the pixel deviation threshold and combines the backward ray-tracing algorithm and the fitting algorithm to process the various frequency-domain components. Meanwhile, pixel deviation threshold with distinct depths is proposed and analyzed, and the simulation experiments verify the validity of the pixel deviation thresholds. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm addresses the pixel deviation issue and exhibits improved performance in other aspects compared with the current algorithm.