Leaked safety document may hint at future Apple technology such as AR glasses

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
An report from an Apple Environment Health and Safety contractor -- said to have accidentally leaked to hundreds of Apple staff -- may point to rumored augmented reality glasses, or some other new eye-related technology.

Google's early experiment with AR-like technology, Google Glass.
Google's early experiment with AR-like technology, Google Glass.


In a Feb. 21 incident requiring "medical treatment beyond first aid," a person was injured testing a prototype at Apple's De Anza office in Cupertino, Calif., according to Gizmodo, which obtained a copy of the report.

"After BT4 user study, user advised study lead, that she experienced discomfort in her eye and said she was able to see the laser flash at several points during the study," the document said. "Study lead referred her to optometrist and secured prototype unit for analysis."

A similar issue arose on March 2 at Apple's Vallco Parkway office, also in Cupertino. "Employee reported eye pain after working with new prototype, thought it may be associated with use," according to the contractor. "He noticed that the security seal on the magenta (outer) case had been broken and had thought the unit may have been tampered with."

A Gizmodo source within Apple speculated about the link with augmented reality. The company could, however, be testing other vision-related technologies, such as iris scanning and/or 3D facial recognition rumored for the "iPhone 8."

In March the Financial Times said that Apple was "stepping up its efforts" in bringing augmented reality glasses to market. CEO Tim Cook has often expressed interest in AR, and tech guru Robert Scoble has even claimed that the company could make an announcement sometime between now and 2018.

Bloomberg recently said that Apple has "hundreds" of engineers working on various AR-related areas, but that any consumer-ready glasses are a distant prospect.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    sog35 said:
    ok. sounds neat.

    Talking about acquistions. Apple should buy Shopify for $15 billion.  
    WAT? Nobody is talking about acquisitions. And no, they shouldn't. That makes absolutely no sense. That's like saying they should also buy Pintrest. Since that is just as useless to their overall model.
    StrangeDayscalistarwarswatto_cobrawaltg
  • Reply 2 of 16
    sog35 said:
    ok. sounds neat.

    Talking about acquistions. Apple should buy Shopify for $15 billion.  
    WAT? Nobody is talking about acquisitions. And no, they shouldn't. That makes absolutely no sense. That's like saying they should also buy Pintrest. Since that is just as useless to their overall model.
    The only part that makes sense: buy it and then kill it so Apple Music will be king of streaming.
  • Reply 3 of 16
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    sog35 said:
    ok. sounds neat.

    Talking about acquistions. Apple should buy Shopify for $15 billion.  
    WAT? Nobody is talking about acquisitions. And no, they shouldn't. That makes absolutely no sense. That's like saying they should also buy Pintrest. Since that is just as useless to their overall model.
    The only part that makes sense: buy it and then kill it so Apple Music will be king of streaming.
    You are confusing Shopify for Spotify. Shopify develops ecommerce software. 
    edited April 2017 califastasleepstarwars
  • Reply 4 of 16
    mdriftmeyermdriftmeyer Posts: 7,503member
    Why is there a picture of Google Glass?
  • Reply 5 of 16
    calicali Posts: 3,494member
    sog35 said:
    ok. sounds neat.

    Talking about acquistions. Apple should buy Shopify for $15 billion.  
    Wtf??
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 16
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    Why is there a picture of Google Glass?

    Because we don't even have a dodgy render of what Apple's AR solution might be.

    Although, as they point out in the article, it could be a number of things other than an AR device. An IR scanner for the new iPhone UnicornX? Eye tracking gear for new human interface designs? Lots of things it could be, AR is just one possibility.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 16
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    So a beta tester in-house got zapped in the eye with a laser? I don't know about anyone else, but lasers firing off images into my eyes isn't a level of risk I'd be willing to take. I do everything I can to avoid excessive radiation.
    fotoformat
  • Reply 8 of 16
    cali said:
    sog35 said:
    ok. sounds neat.

    Talking about acquistions. Apple should buy Shopify for $15 billion.  
    Wtf??


    Nothing much. Sog's back to normal - demanding Cook's head on a platter, threatening to liquidate his Apple stock and then talking about illogical buys in unrelated threads.

    The only thing to complete the turn is when he posts about how Apple should licence the OS.

    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 16
    alanhalanh Posts: 75member
    'An report" that must be American because it certainly isn't English....
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 16
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    So a beta tester in-house got zapped in the eye with a laser? I don't know about anyone else, but lasers firing off images into my eyes isn't a level of risk I'd be willing to take. I do everything I can to avoid excessive radiation.
    Especially if it is from sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads.
    watto_cobraSpamSandwich
  • Reply 11 of 16
    Is it just me, or would the woman in the photo look a lot better if she didn't have a borg implant on her face?
  • Reply 12 of 16
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    sog35 said:
    ok. sounds neat.

    Talking about acquistions. Apple should buy Shopify for $15 billion.  
    If I were Apple, I'd definitely follow your posts here to figure out what definitely NOT to do, based on your shit track record. And yes, buying Shopify is definitely one of those. 
  • Reply 13 of 16
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    Why is there a picture of Google Glass?
    Do you have a picture of the Apple prototype to use instead?
  • Reply 14 of 16
    anome said:
    Why is there a picture of Google Glass?

    Because we don't even have a dodgy render of what Apple's AR solution might be.

    Although, as they point out in the article, it could be a number of things other than an AR device. An IR scanner for the new iPhone UnicornX? Eye tracking gear for new human interface designs? Lots of things it could be, AR is just one possibility.


    uniscape
  • Reply 15 of 16
    crowley said:
    Why is there a picture of Google Glass?
    Do you have a picture of the Apple prototype to use instead?

  • Reply 16 of 16
    anton zuykovanton zuykov Posts: 1,056member
    So a beta tester in-house got zapped in the eye with a laser? I don't know about anyone else, but lasers firing off images into my eyes isn't a level of risk I'd be willing to take. I do everything I can to avoid excessive radiation.
    That is EM(photons) radition, you “avoid” it every time you go outside! 
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