Apple is expected to debut “Apple Glasses,” an augmented reality/virtual reality head-mounted display (HMD), perhaps as early as next year. And the company has been granted another patent (number 10,217,288) dubbed “methods for representing points of interest in a view of a real environment on a mobile device.” The patent could also apply to AR features on an iPhone or iPad.
The invention involves a method for representing points of interest in a view of a real environment on a screen of a mobile device with a functionality for interaction with a user. The virtual information can be any type of visually perceivable data such as objects, texts, drawings, videos, or their combination. Apple says the view of the real environment or a part of the real environment could be perceived as visual impressions by user’s eyes and/or be acquired as one or more images captured by a camera held by a user or attached on a device held by a user.