New patent shows that Apple glasses may adopt smooth surround navigation

       The upcoming "Apple Glasses" will give the wearer a whole new AR perspective of real or virtual environments, and Apple is working on technology that will allow users to smoothly zoom in and out of images. Think of the "Look Around" feature in Apple Maps. It's the same as Google's Street View, but it removes the stuttering steps of that service and instead makes zooming in and out of streets smooth and simple. This is what Apple hopes to bring to apps with Apple Glasses and Apple AR.

　　"Movement within an Environment" is a recently published patent application from Apple that describes how to change the virtual landscape to represent movement. Users will always be able to walk around in a CG rendered (CGR) environment, which will allow them to jump to another part without getting lost.

　　Apple stated in the patent that some CGR applications display the CGR environment from a specific location in the CGR environment, and in some cases, the location represents the location of the user or virtual camera in the CGR environment. However, in some applications, the user may want to move within the CGR environment and/or view the CGR environment from different locations. Movement in the CGR environment does not need to correspond directly to the user's actual physical movement in the real world. In fact, the user can move quickly over large distances in the CGR environment, which is impossible in the real world. This virtual environment must change based on the user's position or direction. For example, the CGR system may detect that a person's head is turned and, in response, adjust the graphical content and sound field presented to the person in a manner similar to how such views and sounds change in the physical environment.

　　This kind of adjustment is needed in every AR, VR, or mixed reality environment, whether everything is virtual or augmented reality objects are positioned on a view of the real world. What's new in this patent is that Apple wants you to be able to turn your head, see something in the distance, and then decide to jump to it immediately. What you can see from the environment you are in can be added to the enlarged view presented in the distance.

　　So you'll see a regular view of a virtual object in the distance, but also be able to choose to see a close-up view of it. After seeing it, you can choose to go to that point, which is more psychologically prepared than just teleporting to a new location. The patent is attributed to three inventors, including Ryan S. Burgoyne. His previous patent applications include a related patent for "Apple Glasses" users being able to manipulate AR images.