Apple patents headsets that use infrared lights to track hands in the dark
Apple describes a head-mounted device, such as a headset, that uses infrared lights to help cameras see in low-light conditions. The system shines a beam of invisible light onto a specific area, allowing the camera to track user movements or objects even when the room is dim.
In the filing’s own words
A head-mounted device may have a head-mounted support structure. Displays may present images to eye boxes at the rear of the head-mounted support structure. Cameras and other sensors may be supported by the head-mounted support structure. Tracking cameras may be used to track the movement of a user’s hands or other external objects. In dim ambient lighting conditions, a supplemental illumination system may be activated to provide supplemental illumination for the tracking cameras. A single beam of supplemental illumination may be emitted over a given coverage area or a smaller beam of supplemental illumination may be steered across the given coverage area. Light-emitting devices such as infrared light-emitting diodes and infrared lasers may be used to form infrared light sources for the supplemental illumination system.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A head-mounted device, comprising: a head-mounted support structure; a display supported by the head-mounted support structure; an infrared light source configured to emit infrared light across an illumination angle to illuminate a first area; and a camera configured to capture infrared images of a second area that overlaps the first area, wherein an angle of view of the camera is larger than the illumination angle of the infrared light source.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- Systems With Supplemental Illumination
- Publication number
- US20260276997A1
- Application number
- 19659000
- Filed
- Apr 27, 2026
- Published
- Sep 17, 2026
- Inventors
- 6
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G02B 27/0172 Physics & computingG02B 27/0093 Physics & computingG02B 2027/0138 Physics & computingG02B 2027/014 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.