Apple might someday launch its pair of smart glasses that are more than just a small display and project images directly onto the user’s retina. The so-called “retinal projector” technology is being revealed via a patent awarded to the company by the United States Trademark and Patent Office, reports Apple Insider.
In the document, the company has proposed a futuristic-sounding technology that might help reduce eyestrain, headaches, and nausea that some users experience while using VR or AR headsets.
Making VR/AR headsets more comfortable
The document reads that such feelings occur “when a VR or AR system effectively confuses the brain of a user by generating scene content that does not match the depth expected by the brain based on the stereo convergence of the two eyes of the user,” a problem called “accommodation-convergence mismatch.”
The document further explains: “For example, in a stereoscopic system the images displayed to the user may trick the eye(s) into focusing at a far distance while an image is physically being displayed at a closer distance. In other words, the eyes may be attempting to focus on a different image plane or focal depth compared to the focal depth of the projected image, thereby leading to eyestrain and/or increasing mental stress. Accommodation-convergence mismatch problems are undesirable and may distract users or otherwise detract from their enjoyment and endurance levels (i.e., tolerance) of virtual reality or augmented reality.”
When will Apple’s headset launch?
The company says in the patent that the tech could feature a “gaze tracking system” that will be capable of tracking the user’s pupil and “adjusts projection of a scanned light field” so the projected image lands on the retina is a way that provides a consistent and reliable image.
Apple’s proposed tech for the retina would also make way for a lighter and comfortable headset design, unlike the existing AR/VR headsets which are heavy and bigger in size. The company is speculated to be working on both smart glasses and AR/VR headsets that could see the light of day in one or two years.
