A supposed leaked document first clued the general populace into the idea that Microsoft was flirting with the idea of augmented reality glasses, which they were referring to as "Fortaleza." Now, it looks like they're one step closer to realizing it. Microsoft was recently granted a patent on augmented reality glasses, in a move that the Guardian has dubbed as the beginning of the "AR wars."
No one's sure if their intention is to use the glasses with a new console, or even at all. The patent description consistently describes using the glasses at a "live event," but the description is proabably just to broaden the glasses' appeal to a much wider demographic. It's possible that Microsoft could just be gearing up for competition with Apple and Google, who also have their own patents on AR glasses.
Here's the description according to the patent:
"A computer implemented method providing supplemental information to a user with a head mounted display viewing a live event, comprising: receiving an indication that a user is attending a live event, the live event having an event duration; determining a field of view of the user through the head mounted display, and objects within the field of view at the live event; retrieving supplemental information describing at least the objects in the field of view of the user during a portion of the live event; determining elements of said supplemental information to present to the user in the head mounted display; and displaying the supplemental information in one or more display elements in the head mounted display."
To describe it for gamers, think of it like the HUD on pretty much any shooter game under the sun, offering a wide array of information, save for providing a bullet count. To go even nerdier, what Tony Stark sees when he's Iron Man.
We'll post more when Microsoft reveals their intentions.