While Google has been showing off its Google Glass prototype with exciting videos and demonstrations, it may be in for some serious competition in the head-up display (HUD) business. On Tuesday, July 3, Apple was granted a patent for a head-mounted display (HMD) apparatus. Apple had originally filed the patent back in 2006.
Called "Peripheral treatment for head-mounted displays," Apple's patent describes how images could be projected to create a peripheral display that would deliver "an enhanced viewing experience" for the user. While Apple refers to its implementation as a HMD rather than a HUD, it is designed to display video information in front of the user's eyes, just like Google's HUD glasses. Apple's design would involve one or two small CRT, LCD or OLED displays embedded in a wearable headset such as a pair of glasses, a helmet, or a visor, reads the patent description.
Moreover, Apple's HMD could also serve as a cool gadget for augmented reality, transmitting a transparent image superimposed on the immediate reality by using reflective mirrors. The examples of useful applications Apple noted in the patent include surgery applications where CAT scans or MRI images could be superimposed on the surgeon's field of vision; applications for military personnel, police, and firefighters, who could use the HMD to see tactical information; and for engineers and scientists who could use the display to view stereoscopic CAD designs.
While other HMDs can sometimes cause feelings of motion sickness, Apple's patent deals with peripheral vision in a manner that could eliminate this issue. Users, for instance, would be able to make individual adjustments to the headgear so it would properly fit their eyes. Moreover, the HMD could receive music and image information from a portable external source, notes the patent description.
Meanwhile, Google obtained a patent for its Glass technology in June. Early prototypes of Google Glasses will be available for select developers at the beginning of next year for a whopping $1,500 price tag. Mass availability is scheduled for 2014, and the consumer version is expected to cost arguably less. Google's patent is for a wearable display with and integrated finger-tracking input sensor, which makes it very specific to Google Glass. Apple's patent, however, seems much broader, as it covers a variety of HMD technology implementations.
