Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially granted Apple a patent that relates to systems and methods for providing the display of augmented reality images perceived as being overlaid on background image content viewed through a light-transmissive viewing surface such as a vehicle's heads-up display or AR glasses and more. The patent focuses on "tone mapping" that controls the AR content's brightness on the display.   

Apple's granted patent generally relates to display panels (e.g., electronic displays), which may be implemented and/or operated to display one or more images (e.g., image frames and/or pictures) to present visual representations of information. Accordingly, electronic systems (e.g., devices), such as computers, mobile phones, portable media devices, tablets, televisions, virtual-reality headsets, and vehicle dashboards, among many others, often include and/or utilize one or more display panels.

To facilitate providing an augmented reality experience, in some instances, a display panel may be implemented and/or operated to actively display (e.g., reproduce) background image content, for example, by controlling light emission from its display pixels based at least in part on corresponding image data generated by an image sensor, such as a camera. In other instances, a display panel may be implemented (e.g., deployed) on a light-transmissive viewing surface, such as a lens of a wearable (e.g., headset) electronic device, a windshield of an automotive vehicle, and/or the like. In particular, the light-transmissive viewing surface may enable environmental light to pass therethrough, thereby enabling a user (e.g., wearer, driver, rider, or operator) to visually perceive background image content. Thus, in such instances, the display panel may facilitate providing an augmented reality experience by displaying augmented reality image content anchored to one or more specific locations in background image content without actively displaying (e.g., reproducing) the background image content.

to facilitate improving augmented reality experience, the present disclosure describes techniques for implementing and/or operating an electronic system, which includes one or more display panels each implemented (e.g., deployed) on a light-transmissive viewing surface, to adaptively adjust presentation (e.g., display) of augmented reality image content based at least in part on expected optical (e.g., visual) characteristics of background image content on which the augmented reality image content is to be overlaid. To facilitate determining the expected optical characteristics of background image content, in some embodiments, the electronic system may include one or more optical sensors. In particular, in some embodiments, the optical sensors may include one or more ambient light sensors, for example, implemented and/or operated to determine (e.g., generate and/or output) an ambient lighting metric indicative of an average (e.g., mean) brightness level (e.g., luma value) of background (e.g., environmental and/or ambient) light.

To help illustrate, an example electronic system—namely an augmented reality headset (e.g., glasses) system 10A—is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In particular, FIG. 2 shows the augmented reality headset system #10A being worn by a user #34. On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows an example of image frames, which includes augmented reality (e.g., virtual) image content 36 overlaid on background (e.g., real) image content #38, viewed from the perspective of the user. However, it should be appreciated that the depicted examples are merely intended to illustrative and not limiting.

Apple's patent FIG. 6 above is an example of a frame of captured background image content; FIG. 7 is an example of a frame of re-projected background image content determined by re-projecting the captured background image content of FIG. 6.

To help illustrate, another example an electronic system #10—namely a heads-up display system 10B—is shown in FIG. 4. As depicted, the heads-up display system is deployed in an automotive vehicle #44, for example, as part of its electrical system.

Apple's patent FIG. 5 above is a block diagram of an example portion of the electronic system that includes image processing circuitry, which includes a local tone mapping block and a background analysis block, and a display pane.

For deeper details, review Apple's granted patent 11790498.