(Oct 22, 2010)

On August 24, 2010 the US Patent Office issued Patent # 7783130 B2, entitled "Spatial Standard Observer" to inventor Andrew B. Watson. This invention is a system for measuring the visibility of spatial patterns, such as artifacts or blemishes in flat panel electronic displays.

The Spatial Standard Observer is based on a simple model of the human visual system, and thus matches the performance of human observers.

In 2009, 527 million large LCD panels were produced worldwide, and this number increases each year. At present, each of these displays is scanned visually by a human inspector. The Spatial Standard Observer promises to automate the process of flat panel display inspection, with very large potential savings in time and expense. This technology has already been licensed to two companies, and is in use in commercial display inspection hardware.