Apple has been granted a US patent for a mixed reality headset that will project images directly onto the retina. 

Conventional virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets project stereoscopic images onto screens in front of the viewer’s eyes, but accommodation-convergence mismatch has led to users reporting nausea, headaches and eyestrain, as well as the sensation of being removed from the experience, according to Apple’s patent application. 

The application describes several headset components to avoid the phenomenon, including a reflective holographic combiner to direct light into the wearer’s eye, projecting light fields with different fields of view and resolution, and the use of scanning mirrors and foveal projectors. 

A separate Apple patent was also granted for a VR headset or spectacles with tunable lenses, which the company’s application claims will benefit users with myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia or astigmatism.  

For more on adaptable lens tech, see www.eyeonoptics.co.nz/articles/archive/need-to-refocus-just-swipe