Microsoft has patented a new technology best described as “gaming glasses,” a pair of lenses that could display media (like Xbox games) directly in front of the wearer's eyeball. The lenses could display images designed to be completely immersive, or use transparency to project a game's visuals over what the uses sees around them. The patent also describes a heavy-duty version of the technology that mounts the lenses in a helmet, and could be used in aviation as well as for gaming purposes.
Microsoft began work on the new technology in 2010 and it is unclear what (if anything) Microsoft plans to do with it. The patent's main significance is that it proposes a solution to problems with projecting media on, which is that the human eye can't actually focus on images that close to it. Microsoft's proposed solution involves “projecting” the data on the glasses backwards so that it appears 21 inches away from the viewer. This would use the same technology as the glasses' transparency feature.
SOURCE: Microsoft Working on a Gaming Helmet, Glasses [Patent Bolt, via Kotaku]
