Apple devices such as Apple Glass could integrate real-world objects into Apple AR or VR experiences, specifically to prevent the wearer from colliding with them.
The vast majority of Apple's many patents and patent applications related to Apple AR deal with what users see and how they interact with virtual objects. However, a newly revealed patent application focuses more on the boundary between virtual and real. "Inserting Imagery from a Real Environment into a Virtual Environment" is the title of the latest patent. In it, Apple explains:
Apple Patent: Avoiding Accidents
The footage from the real-world environment is inserted in response to an electronic device detecting that a user (and/or the device) is approaching a physical object in the real-world environment. The footage of the physical object is then isolated and inserted into the virtual environment.
There can be many reasons for integrating real-world objects into an AR or VR experience. For example, Apple has already explored using AR to turn physical objects into virtual touchscreens. In this particular case, however, the primary concern is to prevent accidents. Apple writes:
These techniques provide an increased level of security to the user by, in some example embodiments, providing images of the physical object before the user comes into contact with the physical object.
This is an interesting counterpoint. Most developers have previously worked on bringing a Zoom-like background replacement to Apple Glass, which would presumably remove the real world from view.
But this is clearly a visual feature for "Apple Glass". Engineers say that there can be many different ways to perceive the real world. The patent description states:
When will Apple Glass be introduced?
For example, a head-mounted system may include one or more speakers and an opaque display. As another example, an external display (e.g. a smartphone) may be integrated into a head-mounted system.
Apple lists many other methods that use "an optical reflector, a holographic substrate, an optical waveguide, an optical combiner, or any combination thereof" to let the wearer know what they are looking at. Patents should normally be treated with a grain of salt - and this is no exception. But the evidence that Apple is actually planning to introduce Apple Glass is mounting. It is now claimed that it could happen in the next one to two years. So we will have to be patient. (Photo by Kirill Gorshkov / Bigstockphoto)
