New anticipations arrive on the possible features of Apple Glass: they could also have 3D audio. How it works
The glasses “smart” Apple could be presented next October by the company and meanwhile circulating rumors about their features. The highlight of Apple Glass could be 3D audio, a feature that enhances the quality of augmented reality offered by the device.
Virtual reality systems generally offer a level of audio that is meant to accompany the user experience so that it is as realistic as possible. With augmented reality devices, the experience can be even more immersive by using sound effects that are three-dimensional. A normal audio system is only configured on sound diversifications between the left and right headphones. In the case of 3D audio, you get sound coming from every position, just like in reality, using distortion effects that would make the augmented reality of Apple Glass a more complete experience.
Apple Glass, here comes 3D audio
Imagine you’re in a room sitting at a table in front of another person, when suddenly someone walks in the door behind you. The voice of the person sitting in front of us will sound clearer than the voice of the person behind us who has just entered the room. To recreate this difference, Apple has patented a system called “Head related transfer function selection for binaural sound reproduction”, which according to the developers could improve the effect of 3D virtual sound positioning through the head related transfer function, called HRTF. The technology developed by Apple would then allow acoustic filters, applied to each ear, to recreate the transmission of sound from one point in the environment to the ear itself.
Each HRTF filter varies by a number of factors, including differences in individual users’ auditory perceptions and expectations. Creating a filter for the individual user wouldn’t be possible or practical, but developers could set the filter to an average value, or put in different filters that the user could set based on their own needs for using Apple Glass.
3-D audio, from patent to Apple Glass?
Although Apple has patented this technology, there’s no guarantee that we’ll get to try it in the upcoming Apple Glass. Every week there are several patent applications that the Cupertino company presents from its research and development area, and the technologies do not always find application in the upcoming devices right away. The company has been working since 2019 on patents to improve the quality and performance of 3D audio systems, and if the feature will be implemented in Apple Glass, the user experience would definitely be more immersive and believable in augmented reality. So we’ll have to wait for the launch, or more rumors, for more details about Apple’s smart glasses and their functionality.