An Apple patent application is hinting the company’s greater augmented reality (AR) ambitions, which could serve as a further evidence that a dedicated AR headset is in the works at Cupertino.

It has been said that the patent will be able to show information onto a mobile device’s display, which includes points of interests and navigation markers. More specifically, the patent suggests that such data could be an overlay on an image of a real-world environment portrayed on a screen. The patent will start with an image or video of a location and use geolocation data to determine a position and display information relevant to that location.

The most interesting part is the images included with the patent. Although many of the figures represent data being displayed on a smartphone, some of them show off what appears to be a standalone AR headset. Additionally, it’s been dubbed a “video-see-through head-mounted display (HMD)”, which appears to be similar in design to the Google Glass.

The so-called HMD device would have an on-board camera, which would be used to record a user’s environment. The camera could even track the movement and position of a user’s hands and fingers — allowing them to “interact” with their environment using augmented reality gestures. This means that you could potentially use your hands to “tap” onto a virtual overlay to gain more information about an object or location.

However, there is still no guarantee that we’ll see any of the inventions described being available to the public. If it were, it would undoubtedly be revolutionary.

Source: iDropNews