Apple Virtual Pro users may be able to have private conversations in a virtual setting

A newly granted patent (number US 11812194 B1) shows that Apple wants Virtual Pro users to be able to have “Private Conversations in a Virtual Setting.”

The US$3,499 (and higher) Spatial Computer is due to arrive, in Apple’s words, in “early 2024” — although I suspect that “early” means anytime before summer.

About the patent

The patent involves the ability to engage in private conversation between several users within a virtual setting. Apple notes that, in recent years, virtual reality (VR) systems have become more ubiquitous in different industries, such as gaming and entertainment because of advancements in computer technology. Specifically, advancements in hardware and in software provide users with a more seamless and realistic experience within virtual worlds. 

In addition, with the proliferation of mobile devices (e.g., smartphones) and the creation of do-it-yourself stereoscopic viewers, users are no longer tied to a stand-alone VR system. Instead, users may simply attach a smartphone such as an iPhone to the viewer and immediately engage in a virtual world.

Apple wants Vision Pro users to be able to have a private conversation while they’re participating in a computer-generated reality (CGR) setting (or environment). To participate, each user may have a Vision Pro configured to present the CGR setting by displaying a graphical representation of the CGR setting on a display screen and driving a speaker using an audio signal containing sounds of the CGR setting. Each user may be represented by an avatar within the CGR setting, such that the avatar may perform actions (e.g., moving within the CGR setting) in response to user-commands. In addition, speech of each user may be picked up by microphones of the user’s HMD and be projected into the CGR setting, as if said by the user’s avatar. 

As a result, several users may conduct a virtual conference through their respective avatars within a same CGR setting (e.g., a virtual conference room), regardless of the user’s physical location. For instance, the first and second users may be sitting side-by-side, each wearing their own HMDs, while other users may participate in the virtual conference from different physical locations.

Summary of the patent

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A method performed by a processor of an electronic device. The method presents a computer-generated reality (CGR) setting including a first user and several other users. The method obtains, from a microphone, an audio signal that contains speech of the first user. The method obtains, from a sensor, sensor data that represents a physical characteristic of the first user. 

“The method determines, based on the sensor data, whether to initiate a private conversation between the first user and a second user of the other users, and in accordance with a determination to initiate the private conversation, initiates the private conversation by providing the audio signal to the second user.”