Microsoft patents object-recognizing Augmented Reality smart glasses

We are pretty sure Microsoft is working on augmented reality smart glasses, with a number of patents already published for the device, and of Microsoft’s purchasing of Osterhout Design Group’s virtual reality patents for $150 million.

Microsoft has continued to work on cool applications for the unannounced and unreleased device.

The latest to pop up is a patent application for a WEARABLE BEHAVIOR-BASED VISION SYSTEM which takes augmented reality a step further.

Not only will the system recognize real world objects, but it will also assess and predict their behaviour e.g. it would recognize cars and the direction in which they are moving, overlaying this on the display and alerting users of threats or obstacles.

This knowledge of the real world will also allow it to weave the real and virtual world together seamlessly, for example creating a virtual world in which real world obstacles are included, so users can play a virtual game at home wearing the glasses without running into or knocking over real world furniture.

The patent was only recently published, but was filed in January 2014, and we hope recent changes at Microsoft will work to actually bring innovation like this faster to the market, rather than cancelling it.

The full patent can be seen here.