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It's been increasingly clear that Apple has been working on an AR/VR Headset for the consumer market. Originally expected as early as 2020, the most recent rumors place its release in 2021 or 2022.

apple-touch-patent-maps.jpg

But what's been less clear is the exact feature set a pair of AR/VR Apple Glasses will provide. Rumors have been scattered over the functionality with some internal debate about the direction of the unreleased headset -- ranging from an ultra-powerful wearable product to a more limited accessory for the iPhone.

A newly revealed patent application from Apple uncovered by AppleInsider shows some intriguing research that Apple has been doing into the field as far back as 2016.

In the patent, Apple addresses the question of how someone wearing a pair of Apple Glasses would be able to interact with the mixed virtual/real environment they are looking at. When using an iPhone or iPad as an AR viewfinder, the user would typically tap on the screen to interact with objects shown on the screen. But when wearing an AR headset, the same task would be cumbersome. Previous attempts at directly interacting with an AR environment required additional hardware such as a glove or finger sensors. Meanwhile, trying to visually detect finger-to-surface contact is not accurate enough to be useful.

Apple describes how it can more elegantly accomplish this task by using infrared heat sensing to detect when a user touches a real-world object.
The present disclosure is related to a method and device for detecting a touch between at least part of a first object and at least part of a second object, wherein the at least part of the first object has a different temperature than the at least part of the second object. The method includes providing at least one thermal image of a portion of the second object, determining in at least part of the at least one thermal image a pattern which is indicative of a particular value or range of temperature or a particular value or range of temperature change, and using the determined pattern for detecting a touch between the at least part of the first object and the at least part of the second object.
The method could then allow Apple Glasses to visually project controls onto real-world objects and react when they are touched by the user by sensing the heat transfer when touching the object.

As with all patent applications, we can't be certain Apple will incorporate this technology into its future products. But we do believe Apple is planning on releasing an Apple AR/VR headset. Full details can be found in our Apple Glasses roundup.

Article Link: Apple Glasses Patent Suggests Any Surface Could Become a Virtual Touch Interface
 
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The idea is a good one, but I hope there would be air gestures as well and voice control for situations where there aren’t readily available surfaces to touch, a.k.a. like driving
 
seems like it would be laggy
Yeah, imagine if you tapped, but your finger still occluded the area of contact for a sec; it could cool down before the sensor got to see it. Maybe Apple can try to work around this by using stereo IR sensors.

But without knowing more about how this would be implemented, one could speculate endlessly about all of the potential pitfalls of this input method.
 
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It's hard to imagine where all this AR stuff is gonna take us in the coming years and decades, but one thing that excites me is the possibility (probability) of not having to carry a phone in a few years. Cameras on glasses create a privacy issue, but once that gets solved (or accepted as a necessary evil of wearables), I think it's going to be great. I will gladly trade in my phone for glasses.
 
What if you wear a glove? Batman wouldn't be happy.
Capacitive screens already have this issue.

Some people buy gloves with fingertips sewn with conductive thread to mitigate this issue. The same could be done with thermoconductive material… if you don't mind cold fingertips.
 
Can't this being how it will work on a Gen 1 product from Apple. They take baby steps, this seems like something they'd have in Gen 3 or 4. Guess we'll see what they end up doing but with all the reports suggesting they can't have tinted lens I can't see myself purchasing a device like this right away. No transitions really make little to no sense for daily outdoor use.
 
This is definitely the AR world that excites me. Your glasses show you a keyboard, your fingers type where they think the keys are, the glasses record the strokes. Definitely the first steps in this exciting tech. So many possibilities.
 
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I have a really good contact at Cupertino. He says that Apple are working on FaceID for the Mac — and that it should be ready by 2030. You heard it here first.
 
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Apple's explanation is a little verbose, so to simplify, it seems they could use IR to detect hotpots left by finger taps, and use that as touch input.

If it works out, this is AWESOME!

I can't see how it could work without lag. Wouldn't the "heat spot" be obscured by your finger until you move it away?
 
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It really reminds me of the warning that small FLIR cameras could be used to compromise your PIN at a POS.

I imagine this will also have a hard time in hot climates with limited to no temperature gradient and probably won't work with gloves.

seems like it would be laggy
 
I want to remind you, that a lot of patent are placed, but some see the light, some see the late much much later, and some, never
 
It's hard to imagine where all this AR stuff is gonna take us in the coming years and decades, but one thing that excites me is the possibility (probability) of not having to carry a phone in a few years. Cameras on glasses create a privacy issue, but once that gets solved (or accepted as a necessary evil of wearables), I think it's going to be great. I will gladly trade in my phone for glasses.

I know we’re nowhere close yet, but I can’t wait for the day where I’m not carrying my iPhone with me anymore. It’s obtrusive, large and cumbersome in my pocket and if we reach a maturity point where technology allows us to not have our phones with us, I’m all for it.

But to your first point, Where I suspect the AR glasses will be really useful, is definitely in the medical industry, perhaps for ‘hands-on practicals’ for upcoming students would have more training in terms of operation/diagnosing, even technicians have updated training on new technology for a drive-trains, extensive repairs,ect.
 
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