BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present disclosure relates to augmented reality (AR) systems. The invention has particular, but not exclusive, relevance to the security of data used in determining the location and orientation of the AR system.

Description of the Related Technology

AR devices provide experiences to users in which a representation of a real-world environment is enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information. In order to accurately provide these experiences to users, the position and orientation of the AR device is determined so that the computer-generated perceptual information can be integrated seamlessly into the representation of the real world. An alternative term for AR is “mixed-reality”, which references the merging of real and virtual worlds.

Enhancing the real-world environment by computer-generated perceptual information may comprise the use of perceptual information that covers one or more sensory modalities including, for example, visual (in the form of images, which could be text or simple icons in some cases), auditory (in the form of audio), haptic (in the form of touch), somatosensory (relating to the nervous system), and olfactory (relating to the sense of smell) information.

Overlaying the sensory information on to the real-world (or “physical”) environment can be done constructively (by adding to the natural environment) or destructively (by subtracting from, or masking, the natural environment). AR thus alters a user's perception of their real-world environment, while virtual reality (VR) replaces their real-world environment with an entirely simulated (i.e. computer-generated) one.

AR devices include, for example, AR enabled smart telephones, AR enabled mobile computers such as tablet computers, and AR headsets including AR glasses. The position and orientation of an AR device, relative to an environment in which it is located, are generally determined based on sensor data collected by the AR device or associated with the AR device through a process of localization.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an augmented reality, AR, system comprising: one or more sensors arranged to generated sensed data representing at least part of an environment in which the AR system is located; storage for storing sensed data generated by the one or more sensor; one or more communications modules for transmitting localization data to be used in determining the location and orientation of the AR system; and one or more processors arranged to: obtain sensed data representing an environment in which the AR system is located; process the sensed data to identify a first portion of the sensed data which represents redundant information; derive localization data for use in determining a location and orientation of the AR system, wherein the localization data is derived from the sensed data and the first portion is obscured during the derivation of the localization data; and transmit at least a portion of the localization data using the one or more communication modules.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-implemented method of data processing for an augmented reality, AR, system, the method comprising: obtaining sensed data representing an environment in which the AR system is located; processing the sensed data to identify a first portion of the sensed data which represents redundant information; deriving localization data for use in determining a location and orientation of the AR system, wherein the localization data is derived from the sensed data and the first portion is obscured during the derivation of the localization data; and transmitting at least a portion of the localization data.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer-readable instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: obtain sensed data representing an environment in which an augmented reality, AR, system is located; process the sensed data to identify a first portion of the sensed data which represents redundant information; derive localization data for use in determining a location and orientation of the AR system, wherein the localization data is derived from the sensed data and the first portion is obscured during the derivation of the localization data; and transmit at least a portion of the localization data.

