AR Privacy API Content Rendering Abstractions for Web Immersive Environments

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing augmented reality (AR) technologies face challenges in balancing user privacy with the need for immersive experiences, as they often require access to sensitive room and object data, leading to either unrestricted data access or limited, application-specific API controls that restrict functionality.

Innovation Solution

The AR Privacy API introduces content rendering abstractions such as screen and semantic annotation abstractions to protect user privacy by limiting the information exposed to applications, allowing authorized access to room and object data while enabling rich AR experiences without sacrificing web or browser performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If applications are given unrestricted access to raw sensor data for immersive AR experiences, then the quality and versatility of AR experiences is improved, but user privacy protection deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveAR experience versatilityVSAvoidprivacy risk
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary layer (the AR Privacy API) between the sensor data and applications. This intermediary processes raw sensor data and exposes only aggregated, anonymized information to applications through controlled interfaces. The system mediates between the need for data access and privacy protection by transforming raw data into privacy-preserving representations that still enable functional AR experiences.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts and removes personally identifiable information and sensitive details from sensor data before making it available to applications. By taking out the harmful components (identifiable personal information) while retaining useful aggregate information, the system enables AR functionality without exposing user privacy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If narrow, application-specific APIs are used to protect privacy, then user privacy protection is improved, but application functionality and versatility deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprivacy protectionVSAvoidapplication functionality
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a universal AR Privacy API that serves multiple applications and use cases through a single standardized interface. Rather than creating separate narrow APIs for each application, this universal interface provides privacy-protected access to sensor data for diverse AR scenarios including spatial mapping, object recognition, and contextual content delivery, thereby maintaining versatility while ensuring privacy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements a dynamic permission system where applications can request and receive appropriate levels of data access based on their specific needs and user consent. The system dynamically adjusts what information is exposed, allowing applications to obtain necessary data for their functionality while maintaining privacy protections. This dynamic approach enables both privacy and functionality to coexist.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3069544B1Protecting privacy in web-based immersive augmented reality
Publication Date: 2017.06.28 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP3069544B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3069544B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3069544B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An "AR Privacy API" provides an API that allows applications and web browsers to use various content rendering abstractions to protect user privacy in a wide range of web-based immersive augmented reality (AR) scenarios. The AR Privacy API extends the traditional concept of "web pages" to immersive "web rooms" wherein any desired combination of existing or new 2D and 3D content is rendered within a user's room or other space. Advantageously, the AR Privacy API and associated rendering abstractions are useable by a wide variety of applications and web content for enhancing the user's room or other space with web-based immersive AR content. Further, the AR Privacy API is implemented using any existing or new web page coding platform, including, but not limited to HTML, XML, CSS, JavaScript, etc., thereby enabling existing web content and coding techniques to be smoothly integrated into a wide range of web room AR scenarios.