Microsoft patents AR glasses with modular design including hot swappable battery

Microsoft files patents for brand-new AR glasses — complete with its modular design with a hot swappable battery. Honestly? It looks promising.

The Redmond-based tech giant’s patent application, published on October 5, 2023, showcases a wearable device with internal charge storage within the frame so that users can continue to use it even if the battery is depleted.

It could be useful for extended use or in situations where a power outlet is not available. Take a look at its principal design picture here.

The patent also describes a variety of different ways that the modular design could be implemented, but one example shows the battery is located in the temple piece of the glasses. 

The battery would then be connected to the rest of the glasses via an electrical connector, allowing it to be easily removed and replaced.

Another example shows the battery being located in a detachable earpiece. This would allow users to wear the glasses without the battery if they wanted to reduce the weight or bulk of the device.

Microsoft’s passage also demonstrates how the glasses can be connected to an external device, such as a necklace, belt, or backpack, to increase the glasses’ computing and memory capacity, or to provide additional functionality.

“In some examples, a detachable module may be configured to extend a functionality of the device, such as by providing a communications radio (e.g. Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) or cellular), a LiFi (light fidelity) emitter/receiver, mass storage (e.g. a solid-state drive), compute capacity, and/or other functionality,” the patent reads.