Earlier this morning, Patently Apple posted a report titled “Qualcomm, Samsung and Google are extending their XR Headset Alliance to bring Smartglasses with AI to market as a Smartphone Accessory.” While on the topic of smartglasses, he U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a patent application from Apple that relates to bringing Vision Pro’s EyeSight feature  to future smartglasses.

Interestingly, EyeSight was originally invented for smartglasses 7+ years ago and abandoned, according to the history of this patent found in their application. Now with EyeSight being a very popular Vision Pro feature – with competitors scrambling to copy it (01 and 02) – Apple decided to file a fresh patent for it in February 2024 which was published today by the U.S. Patent Office.

Apple’s EyeSight feature for Smartglasses

Head-mounted devices such as VR/MR smartglasses may be used to provide a user with virtual content. Virtual reality glasses can be used to display virtual worlds to a user without the intrusion of real-world content. Mixed reality glasses may be used to overlay virtual content on top of real-world content.

Although the content that is provided to a user of a head-mounted device may be engaging for the user, head-mounted devices tend to isolate users from their surroundings. As a result, a user may become immersed in a virtual environment to the exclusion of the outside world.

Interactions between the user and people in the user's environment may be extremely limited or non-existent. For example, there is often no way for a person standing next to a user wearing a head-mounted device to discern the user's emotions or to recognize the identity of the user.

Apple’s patent covers smartglasses provide for a publicly viewable display that presents people surrounding the user with publicly viewable images. The publicly viewable display may overlap the facial features of the user's face.

Images presented with the user-viewable display may be directed inwardly toward the user, while images presented with the publicly viewable display may be presented outwardly away from the user so that these publicly viewable images are not visible to the user.

Individuals in the vicinity of the user may view the publicly viewable images on the publicly viewable display while images such as virtual reality images and/or mixed reality images are being displayed privately to the user with the user-viewable display.

Publicly viewable images may include captured images of user facial features or other image content gathered with a camera, may include computer-generated graphics such as user facial feature graphics, may contain a mixture of captured image content and overlaid graphics such as user facial feature graphics, or may contain other publicly viewable content.

User monitoring sensors such as camera and gaze detection sensors, environmental sensors, and other circuitry in the head-mounted device may gather information that is used in adjusting the publicly viewable images.

Publicly viewable content may be displayed that reflects environmental conditions, the state of the user of the head-mounted device, identities and other attributes of people in the vicinity of the head-mounted device, and other attributes of a user of the head-mounted device and those in the vicinity of the user.

This publicly viewable content may serve as a graphical interface that helps people interact with the head-mounted display. The presentation of content on the head-mounted display that is publicly viewable may therefore help promote interactions between the user and others. For example, by publicly displaying information on the identity of the user and information on whether a user is available to interact with others, people in the vicinity of the user will know when it is appropriate to communicate with the user.

Apple’s patent FIG. 1 below is a diagram illustrating an operating mode for a head-mounted device that is not displaying publicly viewable content; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an operating mode for a head-mounted device that is displaying publicly viewable content; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative head-mounted device on a head of a user wearing smartglasses; FIG. 5 presents a front view of an a user wearing smartglasses with display output of a user’s face features.

Apple’s patent FIG. 8 above is a flow chart of illustrative operations involved in operating a system with a head-mounted display; and finally,  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an illustrative image that may be displayed publicly on smartglasses – such as a company logo. Apple presents many other possible alternatives  such as presenting the word “busy” or “zzz” representing that a user is asleep – don’t bother me.

Believe it or not, the inventor on the patent is none-other than Jonathan Ive.