This morning Patently Apple posted an IP report titled "Apple Invents a new Touchless Wrist Apple Watch Measurement App for iPhone." A secondary patent application published this morning greatly expands on this. Apple's patent, titled "Graphical User Interfaces for Automatic Measurement in Augmented Reality Environments," covers computer systems for augmented reality, including but not limited to electronic devices for measuring using virtual objects displayed in an augmented reality environment.

In Apple's patent background they note that the development of computer systems for augmented reality has increased significantly in recent years. But methods and interfaces for interacting with environments that include at least some virtual elements (e.g., augmented reality environments, mixed reality environments, and virtual reality environments) are cumbersome and inefficient.

Conventional methods of measuring using augmented reality do not provide guides to help a user move into a correct position for measurement of a body part, and do not provide dynamic positioning guides as a position of the user progresses. In some cases, conventional methods of storing measurements obtained using augmented reality do not easily allow a device to share measurement information with another device. In addition, these methods take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy. This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.

Accordingly, there is a need for computer systems with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for measuring using augmented reality environments. Such methods and interfaces optionally complement or replace conventional methods for measuring using augmented reality environments. Such methods and interfaces reduce the number, extent, and/or nature of the inputs from a user and produce a more efficient human-machine interface.

The above deficiencies and other problems associated with user interfaces for virtual/augmented reality are reduced or eliminated by the disclosed computer systems. In some embodiments, the computer system includes a desktop computer. In some embodiments, the computer system is portable (e.g., a notebook computer, tablet computer, or handheld device). In some embodiments, the computer system includes a personal electronic device (e.g., a wearable electronic device, such as a watch). In some embodiments, the computer system has (and/or is in communication with) a touchpad.

In accordance with some embodiments, a method is performed at a computer system in communication with a display device and one or more cameras. The method includes displaying, in a first region of a first user interface, a visual prompt to move a body part into a field of view of the one or more cameras. The method includes, while displaying the visual prompt to move the body part into the field of view of the one or more cameras, detecting, using the one or more cameras, a portion of a user's body that is in the field of view of the one or more cameras and corresponds to the body part and in response to detecting the portion of the user's body, displaying a representation of the portion of the user's body.

The method further includes, in accordance with a determination that the portion of the user's body that is in the field of view of the one or more cameras meets first position criteria displaying, via the display device, the representation of the portion of the user's body that is in the field of view of the one or more cameras with a first degree of transparency, and in accordance with a determination that the portion of the user's body that is in the field of view of the one or more cameras fails to meet first criteria, displaying the representation of the portion of the user's body to have a second degree of transparency that indicates that the first criteria have not been met.

Apple's patent FIGS. 5A-5F and FIGS. 5H, M & N illustrate example user interfaces for initiating a process for measuring a body part, e.g. a hand or wrist, of a user and prompting the user to position the body part in the field of view of one or more cameras of a computer system.  

Apple's patent FIGS. 6A, B and G, illustrate example user interfaces for prompting a user to move a body part to capture one or more images; FIGS. 7E, Q, R, S & T illustrate example user interfaces for determining a measurement of a body part of a user.

Apple's patent FIGS. 8A & 8E illustrate example user interfaces for storing a measurement of a body part of a user in Apple Wallet.

For more details, review Apple's patent application number 20220261066.