‘Apple Glass’ gets detailed in a patent, will show hologram to the wearer

Recently we heard Apple analyst Ming Chi Kuo talk about the company’s upcoming Mixed Reality headset and the lenses it may feature. Now, a new patent may have spilled some information about the rumoured ‘Apple Glass’, which is said to be the company’s augmented reality device. It has been indicated that the product may feature holograms so moving through a virtual environment may feel more natural.

The patent (via AppleInsider) mentions Richard J. Topliss and Michael David Simmonds as applicants and talk at length about implementing holograms in the eyewear.

“Point to point transmission holograms are used to provide a scene camera for an augmented reality glasses display system. A glass or plastic substrate acts as spectacle style lens. A holographic medium is applied to a surface of the substrate, within which is recorded a series of point to point transmission holograms. The construction points of the holograms are arranged at the eye and at the pupil of a camera placed, ideally, to the temple side of the user's eye. The recorded transmission holograms act by diffracting a portion of the light from the scene surrounding the user that is heading for the user's eye towards the scene camera. The hologram efficiency is balanced so that the user is still able to see the surrounding scene. The perspective of the view seen by the scene camera is substantially identical to that seen by the user through the lens,” states the abstract.

Also read: Apple’s Mixed Reality headset may use hybrid Fresnel lens design to stay under 150 grams

The patent adds that these holographs might show stereoscopic scenes to create an illusion of depth. There might also be a computer that may adjust the scene content in real-time for better illusion effect.

"When the user views images through a virtual reality system, the user may thus feel as if they are moving within the scenes from a first-person point of view," adds the patent. Also mentioned is that the glass can have projectors mounted to the side to create a "scene camera." This also means that as the user moves, the scene camera will also change to mimic the 3D environment.

"The images may, for example, be analyzed to locate edges and objects in the scene," adds the patent.

We are yet to see how exactly things will pan out with Apple’s Mixed Reality and Augmented Reality headsets. While the Mixed Reality device is said to arrive in mid 2022, the augmented reality product is said to launch in 2025.