Everyone has gone to great lengths to liven up a boring meeting during a pandemic by changing the background of Zoom. However, Apple appears to be evaluating a similar technology for its upcoming AR specification, Apple Glass.

Patently This patent, first discovered by Apple, describes how the headset does the chromakeying. This may not sound like much of a burden, but the trick is to make it a hardware solution for the headset. Add to that the fact that, unlike a Zoom-enabled laptop, the headset is constantly moving, and you can see why this can be quite a challenge.

First filed in February, but published this week, Apple's patent relates to the creation of low-latency 3D stereoscopic backgrounds for Apple AR. It is a "wearable immersive head-mounted display (HMD) that performs real-time color keying using an embedded stereo RGB camera to capture the environment and a display system to show real world images augmented with virtual content."

Apple seems to have succeeded in this challenge. The patent states that "the system operates at high frame rates (typically 75 fps or higher) and achieves latency of less than one frame by capturing and formatting images for display on the HMD itself."

How did Apple achieve this? According to the patent, the headset can "format the camera image, detect selected color ranges, and composite them with virtual content.

"Clever.

Along with the fact that people tend to move their heads when wearing the headset, there is another issue Apple must address. The system achieves a sense of mixed reality by having the user look at the display through a wide-angle lens (FOV is typically 110 degrees or more). Two cameras behind the HMD display capture the environment from a vantage point a few centimeters in front of each eye.

Very nice, but what is the point? As you might imagine, the patent doesn't go into detail and is vague: "games, video, virtual objects."

We won't get a concrete answer anytime soon, either: the parties involved are divided on when Apple Glass will first be unveiled, with the earliest estimate being next March, and well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo saying 2022 at the earliest. Ming-Chi Kuo, a well-connected analyst, said it could be as early as 2022. Last year's report said 2023 was more likely.

Also, Apple has been granted a great many patents, with over 2,500 bits and pieces patented last year alone. So while an interesting backdrop may apply to Apple Glass in 2023, it is equally possible that it is another feature left on the cutting room floor.