Apple invents a future Smartglasses App that will assist users give more natural Presentations without teleprompters or hand notes
In June, Patently Apple published a patent application from Apple that related to a potential app or feature available to future Vision Pro users. More specifically, the app is designed to provide users with a way of rehearsing a presentation in a realistic environment with a virtual audience. It may even throw in a distraction or two from the virtual audience so as to train the presenter to keep their presentation on track and not be distracted. The invention also provided a feature that allows the user to change a slide in a presentation as they would in a real-world presentation while wearing Vision Pro. And finally, the system provided a critiquing feature informing the user how they could improve their overall presentation.
Apple noted in their patent background that many people experience anxiety or “stage fright” in anticipation or during performance of a presentation before an audience. Repeated practice performing the presentation could lessen this anxiety.
Apple's invention covered devices, systems, and methods for assisting in the rehearsal of a presentation. In various implementations, the method is performed by a device including a display such as Vision Pro that provides a rich XR Environment presenting a venue with a simulated live audience.
Today, another patent from this same project was published by the U.S. Patent Office titled "Audience Engagement."
Today, most public speakers use teleprompters to keep the content of the presentation moving along. There are usually a teleprompter on the left and right of the speaker. In the future, Apple envisions a new way for presenters to speak without teleprompters.
The system will allow a presenter to practice their speech and have notes pop-up on the display of a head-mounted display. Of course for this to look natural, Apple's presentation app will likely work best with smartglasses so that audience is unaware you're reading notes scheduled to pop-up on cue. This way the user is free to move their head in any direction to give the audience the impression that the presenter is naturally and spontaneously speaking instead of looking like their reading from a teleprompter.
Apple notes that their invention provides methods, systems, and/or devices for displaying portions of a media content item, e.g., presentation notes, at varying positions within a user's field of view.
In various implementations, a method includes displaying a first portion of a media content item corresponding to a presentation at a first location in the field of view.
Audience engagement data is received that corresponds to an engagement level of a member of an audience. A second portion of the media content item is then displayed at a second location in the field of view.
The second location is selected based on the audience engagement data. The second location may be selected to cause the user to look around the audience while speaking, potentially increasing the audience's engagement with the presenter.
In Apple's patent FIG. 1D below, the electronic device/HMD #100 has an audience engagement engine #200 that selects the second location #132 (Notes) for display. The note may be triggered by some form of gesture to trigger the notes to appear in the HMD.
The attention indicator #140 may include a gesture performed by the user (#142). In some implementations, the attention indicator includes a facial expression exhibited by the user.
In some implementations, the attention indicator includes an audio indicator, such as an utterance performed by the user to trigger notes to appear.
The HMD may detect the attention indicator using an image sensor and/or an audio sensor. In some implementations, the HMD receives the attention indicator from a user input device #144, such as a keyboard, a mouse, a stylus, and/or a touch-sensitive display of an iPhone or iPad.
Apple's patent FIG. 2 above is a block diagram of an example audience engagement engine.
To review the full details of this invention /project in development, check out patent application 20240338160.