Apple Patents Technology For Laser-Mapping In iPhone, Other Apple Products

By Ally Kutz, contributing writer

Last week, Apple Inc. was granted a patent for a built-in laser, allowing the iPhone to map indoor areas.

According to International Business Times, Apple filed the application in June for the patent of the laser, designed to record shapes and distances inside of a room. It follows Google Inc.’s February 2014 announcement of a tablet that uses multiple cameras to gather mapping information called Project Tango. Google’s device was used to help NASA’s SPHERES robots navigate the International Space Station in late March of this year.

An AppleInsider article reports the technology is based on a projection-based 3D mapping solution by PrimeSense, a firm with specialities in motion sensing and machine vision, which Apple acquired last year.  

Apple’s patent application discloses technical applications of the laser, but does not reveal how Apple plans to execute the addition of the technology in new features. According to the patent application, information recorded by the laser coupled with built-in motion sensors will allow for indoor mapping as just one possibility for the iPhone.

Mobile Choice reports the technology could be applied to “cellphones, media players, wrist watch devices, pendants, gaming equipment, notebooks, and tablets. This points to a possibility that such technology will feature in future iPhones, iPads as well as Apple Watches.”