How Far Can Snap Turn Reality Into an Interface?

What is it?

This patent anchors an AR eyewear interface to the position of a wristwatch. FIG. 15 shows a user looking at the watch while a three-dimensional launcher with items such as a camera and a car appears around it.

Instead of placing a menu at an arbitrary point in midair, the system uses a physical object the user already knows how to present and look at. Raising the wrist becomes the gesture that brings the interface into view.

What is it?

“Gesture control on an eyewear device” uses the wearer’s hand as an input source for virtual content. FIG. 7 presents the relationship between the displayed content and a hand gesture within the eyewear experience.

A separate handheld controller is not required. The position and motion of the fingers themselves can become the command, bringing the act of “touching the UI” into space.

What is it?

Shared AR requires two devices to agree on where the same place is. This patent uses the users’ own hands as common reference points that both eyewear devices can observe.

FIGS. 5B–5C show two people facing each other and touching fingertips, with hand joints used to establish the spatial relationship between their separate coordinate systems.

What is it?

This patent treats a physical device such as a phone as a virtual paintbrush. The eyewear tracks its position and orientation and uses that motion to generate lines or shapes in three-dimensional space.

FIG. 8A shows a box-like 3D form with differently colored edges inside the viewing area. The drawing surface is no longer the glass of the phone; it is the space in front of the user.

What is it?

“Augmented reality with eyewear triggered IoT” connects the wearer’s location and pose to devices in the environment. FIG. 9B shows a user facing a projected sun-like image while AR elements are aligned with the physical projection.

The patent also describes examples such as changing a projector’s output with head pose or steering a directional fan. The experience is not confined to pixels inside the eyewear; the room itself can produce part of the output.

What is it?

This patent identifies a target location in the surrounding environment and generates spatial audio that appears to come from that direction. FIGS. 6A–6B map the wearer and several targets within a room.

The system does not need to keep an arrow permanently in front of the eyes. Direction itself can be communicated through hearing, moving part of the interface away from the visual field.

What is it?

“Virtual clothing try-on” overlays a selected garment on an image or video of a person. FIG. 8 shows a user on a phone screen with clothing choices arranged below the composite view.

Rather than simply browsing product images, the user’s own body becomes the preview surface. The appearance can change digitally before the physical garment does.

What is it?

“Augmented reality eyewear with x-ray effect” uses information from external cameras or sensors to represent a target that the wearer cannot see directly. FIG. 8A shows users separated by a barrier and the relationship needed to place the hidden information correctly.

The wall is not physically imaged through. Data captured from another viewpoint is aligned with the space so the wearer sees an overlay suggesting what is beyond the obstruction.

What is it?

“Magnified overlays correlated with virtual markers” associates a point in the physical world with a magnified view shown through eyewear. FIG. 8A illustrates the idea in the context of detailed work.

Instead of leaning closer or holding a separate magnifier, the wearer can keep the real object in view while seeing a larger version of the critical area at the same time.

What is it?

“AR/VR enabled contact lens” describes optical elements and display arrangements inside a contact lens that can support normal viewing, augmented reality and virtual reality modes. FIG. 8 enlarges the eye-and-lens optical relationship.

Eyewear is already a computer placed in front of the face. A contact lens pushes the display still closer until the viewing device and the surface of the eye nearly occupy the same place.