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AppleGranted patentAR, VR & displaysInterest 6/10

Apple patents tool to check if virtual objects fit in AR scenes

This patent describes a developer tool that lets creators preview 3D objects in an extended reality environment. It shows a boundary box to indicate if an object is too large for the scene and allows multiple views to be paused for comparison.

Why it mattersIt helps developers ensure virtual items are the correct size before users see them, improving the quality of AR apps.

In the filing’s own words

Provided herein are systems and methods for implementing visual content previews for content items associated with a software application. The content preview includes a visual preview of a content item that is updated based on modifications to the application source code. The content preview includes a plurality of viewports, with each viewport being independently controllable. Each viewport of the content preview can be “paused” to prevent the viewport from updating in response to modifications of the source code, while the content previews associated with other viewports are modified with modification to the source code. In this way, a developer can visually compare different versions of a content item when developing content in the preview application. The device displays a bounding volume concurrently with the content preview to visually depict a relationship between the size of content item and the three-dimensional size of a three-dimensional environment associated with the software application.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method comprising: at an electronic device in communication with a display and one or more input devices: obtaining three-dimensional size information associated with a first software application for a three-dimensional environment, including three-dimensional size information of a bounding volume of the three-dimensional environment, wherein the first software application is a content application associated with a virtual object being previewed; obtaining three-dimensional size and location information associated with the virtual object for the first software application that is to be placed within the three-dimensional environment when displayed by the first software application; displaying via the display, in a second software application different from the first software application, and in accordance with the three-dimensional size and location information associated with the virtual object, a representation of the virtual object, wherein the second software application is a preview application that the virtual object is previewed within; determining the bounding volume of the first software application based on the three-dimensional size information associated the first software application; determining that one or more portions of the representation of the virtual object are outside of the determined bounding volume of the first software application; and in accordance with the determination that one or more portions of the representation of the virtual object are outside of the determined bounding volume of the first software application, displaying, in the second software application, one or more visual attributes at the one or more portions of the representation of the virtual object that are outside of the determined bounding volume.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Devices, methods and graphical user interfaces for preview of computer-generated virtual objects for extended reality applications
Patent number
US12749264B2
Application number
18733243
Filed
Jun 4, 2024
Granted
Sep 29, 2026
Inventors
3
Claims
20

Classified under

G06T 17/00 Physics & computingG06F 3/04815 Physics & computingG06F 3/04845 Physics & computingG06F 8/34 Physics & computingG06T 7/62 Physics & computingG06T 7/70 Physics & computing

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.