Taking A Bite of Google’s Fruit: Apple Granted Patent for Head-Mounted Device

What would Steve Jobs say about this if he were still alive?

Is Apple waging a war with Google on a fresh technological arena? But before raising your eyebrows and thinking that this post should not belong to a wholesale sunglasses blog, these wearable head-mounted devices could be the next big thing in the fashion-meets-IT industry. Read on…

Days after Google co-founder Sergey Brin showcased the Project Glass in this year's I/O conference, Apple was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trade Office a patent for a wearable display device which many say could be the archenemy of Project Glass in the making.

Nothing can explain Apple’s move better than a portion of the patent’s background:

"This invention relates to displaying images in a head-mounted display. A head-mounted display (HMD) is a display device that a person wears on the head in order to have video information directly displayed in front of the eyes. HMDs are also known as near-to-eye displays. HMD has either one or two small CRT, LCD or OLED displays with magnifying lenses and other associated optical elements. The display(s) and optics are typically embedded in a helmet, glasses, or a visor, which a user can wear. Lenses and other optical components are used to give the user the perception that the images are coming from a greater distance, to prevent eyestrain. In HMDs that use a single display, the image is typically projected through optics that split the image into two identical images, and redirects each image to the respective eye. With two displays, the HMD can show stereoscopic images. The stereoscopic images attempt to create depth to the images by simulating the angular difference between the images viewed by each eye when looking at an object, due to the different positions of the eyes. This angular difference is one of the key parameters the human brain uses in processing images to create depth perception or distance in human vision.”

Though it may appear that Apple is up to compete with Google, a Chicago Tribune article commented that Apple is taking a less mobile approach by making its intended output a bit more static when compared to Project Glass.

The Next Web also shunned rumors of a probable copycat tale by citing a New York Times article from late last year that mentioned Apple’s on going initiative to produce wearable computers since they hired an engineer which specializes on wearable computing back in 2010. Apple has also been procuring wearable computing patents since 2008.

Apple stated in their patent summary that the resulting device can be used not only for gaming and entertainment purposes but also for surgery and other scientific purposes as well. Engineers, firefighters, military and police officers could also benefit from the stereoscopic images that can be combined with the intended augmented reality carried by the head-mounted display device.

Both Apple and Google really seem to have noble intentions in the innovations that they are planning to carry. I can’t help but wonder if these devices would sell as fast as sunglasses on any day. Could I get them in wholesale prices? Well, just my thoughts.

If you become Apple or Google god for a day, what would your augmented reality head-mounted device do? Hit me up with your crazy and wild answers in the comments area.

Till next post!