- Apple’s Vision Pro, iPhones, and Apple Car may use spatial audio to get users to turn toward where a sound seems to be coming from.
- A new patent sets out to describe how audio can be used to guide users in the real world or with AR and Mixed Reality (MR).
- Apple proposes using directionality and distance of sound to provide navigational cues and avoid interruption of audio sources.
- The patent application also mentions the safety benefits of using directional audio to guide the user.
Apple is looking to improve sound navigation with its forthcoming Vision Pro, regular iPhones, and Apple Car. A newly-granted patent, called “Spatial Audio Navigation,” sets out to describe how audio can be used to guide users in the real world or with AR and Mixed Reality (MR). The patent application states that conventional navigation applications may provide vocal directions such as ‘turn left’ or ‘turn right’ to direct users, but this could be annoying or interrupt an audio source. Apple proposes using directionality and distance of sound played through binaural audio devices to provide navigational cues to the user without interruption.
The patent application also mentions the safety benefits of using directional audio to guide the user, as opposed to a vocal direction. Not only would users be following something less intrusive, they would also have more control in determining if it is safe to follow the directional audio cue. The rest of the patent application is concerned with the process of altering the audio’s position in stereo, or changing its volume.
This application is credited to six inventors, including Avi Bar-Zeev and Rahul Nair, both of whom have previously worked on patent applications regarding tracking a user’s gaze in Apple AR. William Gallagher, Apple Historian & Senior Editor, has 30 years of experience between the BBC and AppleInsider discussing Apple technology.
