Apple Patents Reveal Possible Full-Body Tracking Capabilities In The Future

Since the start of the year, numerous Apple patents have surfaced, hinting at what the technology giant might possibly have up its sleeves. Thus far, ideas have ranged from an iPhone that automatically protects itself during falls to color-changing Apple Watch bands.

Now, recently-unveiled patents suggest the company could be heading in the direction of full-body tracking capabilities, with claims filed in 2021 and 2022 revealing concepts that could one day be used to detect a user’s every position and movement through its products.

The first patent describes possible features that could be incorporated into Apple devices with a simple accelerometer, which the firm believes can be used to monitor one’s posture or if a user is seated or standing by looking at the head position.

Additionally, the accelerometer sensor could track if an iPhone or Apple Watch owner is riding in a vehicle, or even alert an unsuspecting pedestrian to incoming obstacles on a walk. In particular, sound positioning from Spatial Audio may be used for more accurate readings.

According to Gizmodo, the second patent focused on how wearable gadgets—including the brand’s smartwatches and earbuds—could be used to monitor movements throughout a person’s entire body. This may be extended to fitness applications or “health monitoring” uses.

Such functions would require inertial sensors to be embedded into an Apple Watch or AirPods, together with point-of-view video data that will allow the company to “reconstruct a full-body 2D skeletal model” of users.

Could these features be added to future iterations of the iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods? Or will they debut in the highly-anticipated mixed-reality headset instead? The latter may finally launch this year after numerous setbacks have led to increasingly long delays.

[via Gizmodo and Apple Insider, images via various sources]