Apple has been awarded a new augmented reality patent. The technology is for mobile and other devices which can overly information about objects to which the device is pointed towards. The patent is called Synchronized, interactive augmented reality displays for multifunction devices, it is basically about a technology that captures live video feed, displays it on a device and then overlays information about objects in that feed. The technology can prove to be a major step forward for augmented reality devices (although its description sounds like something that we may have seen before). Perhaps this technology is what Apple is going to use for competing against Google Glass?
A user can point the a mobile device towards a computer circuit board and will be able to see information and annotations about the different parts of that circuit board. This information can be pulled from a website, an online library or a network database. This is just one application that Apple cites as an example in its patent. The augmented reality display will be interactive and users will have the ability to add their own annotations by either drawing or writing them on their mobile device. These annotations can then be shared.
Even if Apple has been awarded the patent, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be introducing this technology in their upcoming devices. For all we know, it may not ever be introduced in any device. With the advancement in augmented reality technology that we’re seeing from other companies, Google in particular, is it really logical for Apple to not put this technology in a mobile device? What do you think?