Amazon’s Patents Take Augmented Reality To The Next Level

Amazon’s recently approved patents suggest that the company wants to bring augmented reality to living rooms, Bloomberg reported. Going by the drawings, it seems the AR systems would not require any type of headset.

The company on Tuesday received two patents – Object tracking in a 3-dimensional environment and Reflector-based depth mapping of a scene.

The former one talks about body (hand, or segments of hand like finger, palms etc) gestures that could provide input to an AR system. The patent document describes this as “a room equipped with computerised projection and imaging systems that enable presentation of images on various objects within the room to facilitate user interaction with the images and/or objects." 

The other patent for “reflector-based depth mapping of a scene,” describes systems and/or processes for determining the 3D depth of a scene, utilizing a light source, a reflector, a shutter mechanism and a camera. Computer projections would be used to transform a room into a virtual setting that responds to the user’s senses. The system may utilize a single light source to determine depth information, which without the need to be recalibrated makes the system more efficient.

Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. The technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.