Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to optical tracking and more particularly to electronic devices (e.g., a panoramic optical scanner and an optical tracker) capable of optically determining ranging and/or relative posing information for the devices that could include future Apple game controllers for a gaming console or Apple Vision Pro.

Apple begins by noting that there are scenarios in which it is desirable to determine ranging information (i.e., relative locations and distance between) and/or relative posing information (i.e., relative locations and orientations) for a pair of devices.

For example, when playing an augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), or mixed reality (MR) game, it may be desirable to determine a range or posing of a game controller with respect to a game console.

In some cases, it may be desirable to determine ranges or posings of multiple game controllers, goggles, and so on with respect to the game console, and to determine ranges or posings of the game controllers with respect to each other.

As another example, it may be desirable to determine ranging and/or relative posing information for devices that engage in line-of-sight optical communication (e.g., in a room or around a conference table).

More specifically, the patent covers a panoramic optical scanner capable of emitting a temporal-spatial encoded pattern of electromagnetic radiation, such as a ring, oval, cycloid curve, or other pattern of electromagnetic radiation. The described panoramic optical scanners may provide a 360 degree panoramic field of view, and an optical tracker may have photodetectors disposed over multiple surfaces thereof so that the optical tracker may detect electromagnetic radiation emitted by the panoramic optical scanner regardless of its posing with respect to the panoramic optical scanner.

Apple’s patent FIGS. 3A & 3B below illustrate example embodiments of a panoramic optical scanner; FIG. 9 shows an example controller #900 in the form of an Apple Watch doubling as a game controller and/or a gesture input device that may incorporate an optical tracker including photodetectors distributed, in sets or individually, at various locations #902 (e.g., locations 902a, 902b, 902c, 902d, and 902e) over various surfaces of the controller.

Alternatively, the controller #900 may be configured, for example, as a bracelet, sleeve, or handheld device. Orienting the photodetectors with their surfaces perpendicular to three or more axes (and preferably, but not necessarily, orthogonal axes), can enable movement of the controller or gestures made by its wearer, to be tracked with six degrees of freedom.

Apple further notes that a set of goggles (HMD/Vision Pro) may also incorporate an optical tracker including photodetectors. In some embodiments, the controller or HMD may include sets of four or more photodetectors at various locations Photodetectors may be distributed over more or fewer surfaces of the controller or HMD, or in a higher or lower density over one or more surfaces of the controller or HMD.

More on a Gaming Controller

Further on the gaming controller aspect of the invention, Apple notes that an environment in which a panoramic optical scanner and one or more optical trackers may be used is an AR, VR, or MR game, in which each participant may wear a pair of goggles/HMD and hold a number of game controllers (e.g., one or more of game controllers).

Patently Apple recently covered two Apple patents covering game controllers that could be split in two so that each hand could hold one half of the game controller (01 and 02). One of the images of the game controller is found in our cover graphic above.   

Apple further adds that each game controller may have a circular sensing component coupled to a handle, and each participant may hold a game controller in each hand.

Alternatively, each participant may hold or otherwise be associated with no, one, or multiple game controllers, and different participants may be associated with different numbers of game controllers. Alternatively, a participant may not wear a set of goggles and instead just hold or manipulate one or more game controllers.

In some embodiments, a game controller may have an alternate configuration or shape. For example, a game controller may be shaped like a particular item it represents, such as a weapon, a glove, or a steering wheel.

Also, some game controllers may be held by two or more participants at once, or may be items that are worn by, sat on, stood on, or ridden by a participant.

The game played by the participants may be hosted by a game console or other device, within or remote from the environment in which the game is played. By way of example, a game console may sit on a table within a room in which the participants are playing.

In some embodiments, the game console may wirelessly serve game video to goggles/HMD/Vision Pro worn by the participants, or the game console may serve game video over a wireless network to which the game console or goggles are connected.

Lastly, while the game is played, the game may need to determine posings (positions and orientations) of the goggles/HMD/Vision Pro, the game controllers, and/or the game console with respect to each other (i.e., relative posings). The posings may enable these items (or virtual representations thereof) to be posed or manipulated within an AR, VR, or MR game environment, or may enable scenes, structures, things, persons, animals, and so on to be rendered in relation to the posings of the goggles, game controllers, and/or game console.

For finer details, review Apple's granted patent 11762193.