Microsoft is piling in Patent Filings for Augmented Reality to get the Leap on Apple
The augmented reality module is configured to output an augmentation (e.g., the car 114) to be viewed in conjunction with the physical surroundings. To generate this view and know "where" to place the augmentation, the augmented reality module may leverage a variety of techniques to determine an orientation and/or position of the Surface tablet in relation to the physical surroundings. For example, the augmented reality module may leverage a camera #120 to capture images of the physical surroundings. The augmented reality module may then process the images to locate one or more markers to determine how the Surface tablet is positioned, oriented, moved, and so on.
Earlier last month Patently Apple posted a report titled "Lenovo Adopts Microsoft Platforms to Challenge Android based Headsets and Tablets in 2017 and beyond. The Lenovo HMD system will be based on the Microsoft Windows Holographic platform and it's likely to be the first of many to follow throughout 2017 and 2018 to get the ball rolling winning over developers to Microsoft's new platform over iOS which has yet to publicly address Augmented Reality.
Microsoft is running like the wind to establish a beachhead from which to launch a larger attack against Apple and their operating systems to win over developers and excite the next generation to the Windows platform and away from iOS and macOS. Whether their strategy will prevail is too earlier to call. It's really up to Apple. If they're too slow to market it's going to be harder for them to win over developers. The Augmented Reality market is going to be gathering steam this year and we're hoping that Apple won't be a no-show. Then again, Microsoft had a few year lead on Apple regarding tablets and never quite understood how to make it work. Apple came out with iPad and it became a consumer phenomenon.
See the full story here: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2017/02/microsoft-is-piling-in-patent-filings-for-augmented-reality-to-get-the-leap-on-apple.html