In rather unusual news, Facebook was granted a patent for an “artificial reality hat” that blends a pair of smart glasses with a baseball cap.
The US Patent and Trademark Office approved the company’s patent, which was then noticed by the intellectual property-focused law firm Founders Legal.
The lenses of the said smart glasses in the design had been placed at the hat’s brim that would display virtual reality or augmented reality-based images. It can also be used as a standard baseball cap as the lenses can be tucked under the hat’s brim when not in use.
However, the patent itself highlights that eyewear-based artificial reality systems can be “thick, heavy and unbalanced” and generate excessive heat. “In addition, because these glasses or goggles are designed to be worn on the bridge of a user’s nose, it is often difficult to incorporate advanced computing components,” the document states.
Nevertheless, a hat provides a greater surface area for heat and weight distribution to hold more components. A communication module and several cameras focused on eye, face, and body-tracking could be packed into the design. It could also feature vibration alerts for notifications.
However, the design surely looks silly at this point. Irrespective, it hints towards other use cases of similar tech that could be applied to more stylish designs.
Andrew Bosworth, the vice president for Facebook’s virtual and augmented reality division, had filed the patent back in 2019. No comment has been received from Facebook on the patent so far. Though, the company is preparing for the launch of a smart glasses product later this year.
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