Invented by Karachiani; Sina, Yu; Shuxin

Let’s talk about a big idea in the world of head-mounted displays and extended reality (XR). Imagine putting on your headset and finding all your apps and windows right where you left them, set up just the way you like—no extra work required. This patent application shows how XR devices can remember and restore your perfect workspace, saving you time and making technology work for you, not the other way around. If you’ve ever wished your digital world could adapt to your needs, this is something you’ll want to understand. Let’s explore how this works, why it matters, and what makes it different from what came before.

Background and Market Context

We’re living in a time when computers are no longer just screens on our desks. With XR—blending virtual, augmented, and mixed reality—our apps and content can appear all around us in 3D space. Head-mounted devices (HMDs) like smart glasses or VR headsets can place your work, games, or other tools anywhere you want in your room. This opens up amazing ways to work, learn, play, and relax.

But here’s a problem: every time you want to do something, you have to set up your digital space from scratch. Want to write a paper? You might want a web browser front and center, your notes to your left, and your word processor to your right. Want to game? You may want your controls close by and your chat window in a corner. Maybe you have a meditation app you use every morning, with calming music and a dimmed background. Setting this up every single time is hard. It’s like rearranging your whole desk every time you sit down.

XR devices are getting better, but most still treat each session as brand new. They don’t remember your favorite setups. If you leave for lunch and come back, you start from zero. Even if you use the same apps, you’re forced to reopen files, move windows, adjust audio, reconnect your keyboard, and tweak your space until it “feels right” again. This gets old fast, especially for users who switch between different activities throughout the day—work, study, gaming, fitness, or just relaxing.

The need for smarter, more personal digital environments is growing. As XR becomes more common at home, in schools, and at work, people need their devices to adapt. Users want to save different workspaces for different tasks and have the device remember where everything goes, what it looked and sounded like, and how it felt to use. No more wasted time. No more frustration. Just put on your headset and jump right in.

That’s where this invention comes in. It offers a way for XR devices to save, recall, and even adapt entire 3D workspaces based on what you did last time, where you are, or what you want to focus on. It means your digital world can finally feel as personal and reliable as your favorite chair or your organized desk. And that’s a big deal for anyone who wants technology to work with them, not against them.

Scientific Rationale and Prior Art

To understand what’s new here, let’s look at what’s already been done and why it’s not enough. Early XR and VR systems let you open apps or windows in 3D space, but they didn’t remember where you put things. Each time you started a new session, you had to arrange everything again. Some systems let you pin windows or apps to the environment, but this was usually a manual and one-time effort—no easy way to save different setups for different tasks.

In traditional computing, desktop environments have let users save certain layouts—think multiple desktops or saved window arrangements. But these are flat, 2D, and don’t account for 3D space, physical locations, or how you interact with the real world around you. On a desktop, your window can only be in one spot on a screen. In XR, your apps can float anywhere—above your desk, on the wall, hovering beside your head, or even anchored to real objects like a table or a keyboard.

Some VR systems have tried to let users pin apps to surfaces or objects, but these setups are often lost when you turn off the device or leave the room. There’s no way for the system to know you want a different setup for gaming versus working, or that your morning meditation should feel different from your evening study session. And if your XR device can’t “see” your physical space, it can’t adjust to where your desk or chair is, or make sure your apps are easy to reach.

A few advanced systems have started to detect physical spaces using cameras or sensors, but they usually just use this for safety (like warning you about walls) or for simple anchoring. They don’t combine your personal activity history with smart triggers, like changing your workspace automatically based on time of day, your location, or what you’re trying to do. They don’t remember your favorite audio settings, your connected hardware, or your preferred level of immersion (like how much of the real world you want to see).

This invention builds on those ideas but goes much further. It brings together several important features:

• It remembers not just what apps you used, but where you put them in 3D space and what state they were in (like which file was open, what you were listening to, or how big each window was).
• It links these workspaces to your actions—so you can have different setups for different tasks, and the system knows which to use based on time, place, or what you’re doing.
• It connects to your real world, using sensors to place apps in the right spots, whether that’s above your real desk, near your keyboard, or anywhere else.
• It lets you create, change, and save workspaces easily, either on purpose or by noticing your habits and suggesting it for you.

No prior solution has brought all these features together in a way that’s simple, automatic, and responsive to the user’s needs in both virtual and real spaces. This invention is the next step in making XR truly personal and useful.

Invention Description and Key Innovations

Now, let’s get into what this invention actually does and how it works. Imagine you’re wearing your XR headset. You arrange your apps just how you like them: your web browser is six feet in front of you, your notes are off to the side, your music is playing softly in the background, and your virtual keyboard sits right on top of your real desk. You spend a while working, then take off your headset and go do something else.

When you come back and put your headset on, everything is restored—just like you left it. The system remembers not only which apps you had open, but exactly where they were in 3D space, what you were doing in each app, what you were listening to, and even where your real-world desk and keyboard are so your virtual tools line up perfectly. All of this is handled by something called a “workspace.”

A workspace is a saved arrangement that includes:

• Which apps were open and their exact positions in 3D space—relative to you, your room, or even specific objects like your desk or keyboard.
• The state of each app, such as which document was open, where you scrolled to, or what song was playing.
• How big each app window was, and what the surrounding environment looked and sounded like.
• Whether you were connected to accessories, like a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse, and how these were positioned.
• Your audio settings, including volume and 3D sound position.
• How much of the real world you could see, or if you were fully immersed in a virtual space.

The magic is in how you use these workspaces. You can set them up manually—arrange your apps and save the setup, giving it a name like “work,” “study,” or “game night.” Or the system can notice your habits and suggest saving a workspace when you use certain apps together or arrange things in a certain way. You can switch between workspaces whenever you want, either by picking from a menu, using a voice command, or letting the system do it automatically.

Automatic triggers are a big part of this invention. For example, you might have a workspace for work that’s used every weekday morning in your home office, and a different one for relaxing in the living room at night. The system can recognize where you are using sensors, cameras, or even GPS, and load the right workspace based on your location. It can also change your workspace based on the time of day, or when you switch to a new “focus mode” like exercise, relaxation, or study.

The system is smart enough to adjust if your environment changes. If you’re in a new room, the apps can be positioned relative to you instead of a fixed object. If you move your real desk, the virtual apps can move with it. If your Bluetooth keyboard is nearby, the system can connect and show a virtual keyboard right on top of the real one. If you’re using a virtual environment, like a deep-space background for gaming, the apps can float in that space while still making sure you see important real-world objects like your desk or chair.

This invention also helps you focus. Each workspace can have its own notification settings, so you only get alerts from the apps or people you care about. You can set up workspaces that limit distractions, play certain music, or change the lighting and audio to keep you in the zone. If you switch to a different task, the system can smoothly transition to the new workspace, closing or hiding apps you don’t need and bringing forward the ones you do.

If you ever lose power, crash, or restart your device, your workspace is saved. When you come back, everything is restored just as you left it. You never lose your place, your files, or your carefully arranged setup.

Privacy is also a priority. The system can store your workspace data securely, either encrypted or anonymously, so only you can access it. You can choose how much personal information is saved, and you can opt out of data collection if you want.

What makes this invention stand out is how it ties together all these pieces—app state, 3D positioning, hardware, audio, environment, and user context—into a smooth, user-friendly experience. It saves you time, removes friction, and lets you focus on what you want to do, not on setting up your tools every time. It’s like having a digital assistant who remembers exactly how you like things and gets everything ready for you, before you even ask.

Conclusion

This invention is a leap forward for XR devices. By letting users save, recall, and adapt 3D workspaces based on activity, location, and focus, it turns XR from a novelty into a practical tool for daily life. It means no more setting up your digital space every time you want to work, play, or relax. Instead, your apps, files, and even your virtual surroundings are right where you want them, just when you need them.

For anyone who wants their technology to feel more personal, responsive, and helpful, this is a game-changer. As XR becomes more common in homes and offices, inventions like this will make sure that your digital world fits you—your habits, your spaces, and your life. The future of XR isn’t just about seeing new worlds; it’s about making your own world work better for you.

Click here https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/ and search 20250216930.