An anonymous source has just forwarded us a patent, filed by Microsoft in Australia, for a head mounted display (HMD) that could have multiple gaming possibilities. Similar to the patent discovered earlier this week, the head mounted display projects images in front of your eyes via a pair of glasses.
This particular patent is for automatic text scrolling on a head mounted display, and provides further evidence that Microsoft is actually working on some kind of glasses device.
The patent refers to possible “video gaming” and “entertainment” uses for the devices, but it primarily focuses on the scrolling technology and its uses for Karaoke, speeches, presentations, and the possibility of reading articles through glasses.
However the patent mentions a sensor that tracks “gaze direction, focal distance” and the “biological metrics” of the user — those metrics could be the user’s vocal pitch, heart rate, blood pressure or blood glucose level — crazy stuff. The patent also mentions measuring the dilation of the eyes and responding to that information.
I would very much like to play a game that can respond to that set of stimuli. The possibilities are mindblowing. This is essentially a patent for a device that has the ability to respond directly to how the user feels.
See below for the different ways in which it attempts to track the user.
According to our source, this patent has only been filed in Australia, which is strange. One possible explanation could be that Microsoft may not expect many to search for Australian patents. It’s relatively easy for Microsoft to simply go global with the patent later and claim the Australian market was a priority.
Of course, it’s worth mentioning that this is simply a patent — this doesn’t mean that Microsoft are 100% working on this device, but it’s a fascinating insight into where technology could be heading.
Leave a Reply