Apple patents wireframe overlays that mix virtual and real views
Apple has been granted a patent for a method that displays a virtual 3D environment on top of the real world. The system uses sensors to track the device's position and draws visible lines for virtual structures, leaving the spaces between them transparent so the physical background remains visible.
In the filing’s own words
Various implementations disclosed herein include devices, systems, and methods that enable concurrent viewing of both virtual and real 3D environments. This may involve presenting a virtual environment overlaying a physical environment. For example, a process may align a 3D representation of a second environment with a 3D coordinate system of a physical environment and determining a viewpoint within the 3D coordinate system based on a position of the electronic device within the physical environment. The process may further include presenting a view of the physical environment with an overlaid view of the 3D representation of the second environment based on the viewpoint. The overlaid view of the 3D environment includes visible lines defining transparent portions through which at least a portion of the view of the physical environment is visible.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method comprising: at an electronic device having a processor and one or more sensors: aligning a 3D representation of a second environment with a 3D coordinate system of a physical environment; determining a viewpoint within the 3D coordinate system based on a position of the electronic device within the physical environment; and presenting a view of the physical environment with an overlaid view of the 3D representation of the second environment based on the viewpoint, wherein the overlaid view of the 3D environment comprises visible lines corresponding to straight and curved edges of structural elements of the second environment, the visible lines defining transparent portions through which at least a portion of the view of the physical environment is visible.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Concurrent view of real and virtual environments
- Patent number
- US12762805B1
- Application number
- 18437451
- Filed
- Feb 9, 2024
- Granted
- Oct 13, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 24
Classified under
G06T 19/006 Physics & computingG06T 19/20 Physics & computingG06V 10/46 Physics & computingG06V 10/60 Physics & computingG06T 2219/2004 Physics & computingMore from Apple in AR, VR & displays
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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.