Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the company is all set to reveal the prototype of its next AR smart glasses later this year. Allegedly, the same AR smart glasses were spotted by a Threads user in an image shared by Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year.
It seems like Meta is closely monitoring Apple Vision Pro and learning what it can make better for its Quest headsets. Because, a fresh patent has surfaced online courtesy of Patently Apple, which suggests that Meta is impressed by one of Apple Vision Pro"s features and could bring it one of its future AR/VR headsets.
According to the patent, Meta could copy Apple Vision Pro"s Eyesight feature. Notably, Apple Vision Pro"s Eyesight feature scans your face to create a virtual image of your eyes, which shows on the external display of the headset. This helps let others around you when you are using an app or are fully immersed in an experience.
When the Eyesight feature was introduced, Apple claimed that it solved one of the biggest problems with VR headsets, which is social isolation. And it seems that Meta liked the feature, and as noted in the patent:
Meta Platforms patent is formally titled “Embedded Sensors in Immersive Reality Headset to enable Social Presence.” It also confirms that a redesign of their Quest headset or an all-new headset design is being considered to support this feature. To distinguish it from Apple’s Eyesight, Meta notes that some of the sensors in face interface my include health sensors.
Meta"s patent describes the feature as a feature to update the wearer"s avatar with a facial expression in real time. You can see that in the patent, to differentiate between the implementation from Apple, Meta states that some of the sensors are related to health.
The patent shows that the headset includes various sensors such as ECG (electrocardiogram), EEG (electroencephalogram), and PPG (photoplethysmogram). These sensors will not only help track facial movements but also help in monitoring the user"s cardiovascular health.
Via: Patently Apple