Apple has filed a patent application for a “Three-dimensional Display System,” the United States Patent Office revealed today.
Apple’s Abstract:
A three-dimensional display system provides a projection screen having a predetermined angularly-responsive reflective surface function. Three-dimensional images are respectively modulated in coordination with the predetermined angularly-responsive reflective surface function to define a programmable mirror with a programmable deflection angle.
Claims include:
A three-dimensional display system, comprising:providing a projection screen having a predetermined angularly-responsive reflective surface function;determining the left and right eye locations of at least one observer;projecting left and right three-dimensional sub-images toward the projection screen; andmodulating the sub-images respectively in coordination with the predetermined angularly-responsive reflective surface function to respectively direct the left and right sub-images substantially exclusively to the respective left and right eye locations.
A three-dimensional display system, comprising:providing a projection screen having a spatial filter defining a predetermined angularly-responsive reflective surface function;determining the left and right eye locations of at least one observer substantially facing and in proximity with the projection screen;projecting left and right sub-images of a three-dimensional image toward the projection screen; andangularly and intensity modulating the left and right sub-images respectively in coordination with the predetermined angularly-responsive reflective surface function to define respective discrete light paths that respectively direct the left and right sub-images to reflect from the projection screen substantially exclusively to the respective left and right eye locations to provide a three-dimensional viewing experience.
Descriptions include:
Although much more realistic, a dynamically presented holographic image also requires far greater computational ability and bandwidth than is generally required for a two-view stereo display. Effective means are also noticeably wanting for dynamically recreating the original wavefront, or an acceptable facsimile thereof, in real time and at commercially acceptable costs. Thus, a need still remains for highly effective, practical, efficient, uncomplicated, and inexpensive autostereoscopic 3D displays that allow the observer complete and unencumbered freedom of movement. Additionally, a need continues to exist for practical autostereoscopic 3D displays that provide a true parallax experience in both the vertical as well as the horizontal movement directions.
The patent app was originally filed on September 20, 2006.
Full patent application filing here.
“Aw, I think you’ve just seen The Jerk one too many times.”
The Opti-Grab is nothing compared to the
” rel=”nofollow”>Ludovico technique.
@ G Spank: he was talking about C1’s glasses, not Apples display. And he’s right: http://www.washingtontechnology.com/print/9_8/9026-1.html.
(BTW, plurals are not made using apostrophes.)
(and of course, I go and make a possessive <i>without</a> an apostrophe.)
Stupid link.
Ludovico technique
@ ZuneTang
I agree… Vista is a shipping product developed to satisfy the wants and needs of the S&M;crowd. Very successful too! Should come with a set of those little clamps in the boxed ultimate/submit version!
I was excited about iChat maybe coming to AppleTV, this could take iChat to a whole new level
imagine sitting across the living room visiting with far off family/friends in 3D !
Sorry Apple, the Japanese already have an 3D LCD Color Monitor that provides a stereoscopic display.
http://www.physorg.com/news204.html
But Name, is the Japanese 3D TV ‘snappy’???
And once they Ben Affleck’s memory, M$ will have a 3D display too.
Just my $0.02
To Name:
“Published: 14:01 EST, June 18, 2004”
“Sharp Introduces 3D LCD Color Monitor that provides a stereoscopic display”
Couldn’t you say that was so four years ago? You would think it would be mass marketed by now. If it worked.
Although, a Pikachu vs. Hello Kitty caged death match in 3D would make for a cool demo. I’ve got five big ones on Pikachu.
I’ll wait until Apple comes out with the whole shebang…the holodeck. Until then, I will continue to use my x-ray glasses I got as a kid for excitement.
BTW…what is the origin of the word shebang anyway?
o…i WANT ONE!. ….!!!!!!!!!!
The secret is out!, Steve Jobs has a time machine !
I knew this was coming.
But no specs needed purleeze.
And the porn merchants will be pleased
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Etymology of “shebang”
Origin proposed: Known to go back at least to year 1862 (Walt Whitman), shebang is suspected to originate from the French word char-a-banc, which was a bus-like wagon with a lot of seats, but no specific connection has been proven as of now. Later, Mark Twain used it to describe a vehicle, as well as “any matter of present concern”.
(source: wiktionary)
How does this compare to the M$ Big Ass Table?
The 3G iPhone display!
Steve, you sly dog.
Geez! Microsoft’s best effort is their Big Ass Table (
). And then Apple pulls out a holographic display! It seems Microsoft are Morlocks and Apple are the Eloi here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Machine). The analogy works all the way to the underhanded way Microshaft has gone around trying to destroy competition.
Apple is so damn cool. Microsoft is so much a bunch of shmucks.
Why do I think that this is just Apples way of getting back at the patent office?
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”grin” style=”border:0;” /> I read the patent and it is so vague that you could argue pretty much any invention that produced a 3 d like image could be covered by this patent.
I think its an early April 1st. . . . . . . And if the patent office grants it, then Apple could own any new 3D services.
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I read it too and that was my very first reaction. But if you read claim #1, they are quite specific about the technique that must be employed.
I hope there are more specifics than show here. It is too nebulous to stand as a patent. It seems only to say that it would be hard to do and the technology doesn’t now exist. “Effective means are also noticeably wanting…” Hopefully, the rest of the filing describes how they actually have the technology, not merely the idea. I don’t even find the first part adequately detailed to understand what they are doing or trying to actually patent. Maybe just a problem in the summary here.
And, yes, I REALLY want new displays!
@ Woody
That article is all well and good but is mostly coming at the issue from a *potential* product liability standpoint, and goes on and on and on about the Potential Dangers™, but doesn’t really provide much meat. Head lice? Come on, have a little vision.
To wit: “Other potential (and mostly unproven) potential problems include radiation emissions from head-display mounted devices in close contact with the eye.”
This is completely irrelevant to what I’m talking about. My contention is that the technology for this to work does not yet exist, because, if Apple builds it, they certainly won’t ask you to put on a frikin’ crash helmet for the love ‘a Pete.
The article continues: “The main downside to virtual reality is this: the body tries to coordinate visual and inertial inputs. Combining signals from the eyes and various other body endorgans — specialized structures at the end of nerve fibers having a sensory function — allows an individual to maintain a sense of equilibrium. Throw the two out of sync — or any set of sensory inputs, for that matter — and the body begins to display characteristic symptoms.”
And this is where the elegance comes in. I don’t think such a system should be Reality Exclusive. I don’t want a screen that blocks out the world and creates a new one that is slightly out of sync with my inner ear. What I’m talking about is more like a 3D HUD, that uses motion sensing and GPS to overlay elements onto my actual view of the real world. My inner ear agrees with my eyes, and the rest of my body. The only thing that the machine draws in is the Covenant Soldier charging me with a missile launcher. And or course, the missile. I run, and the machine moves what it needs to move to make the virtual elements agree with real space.
“For example, the appearance of movement — seeing a road coming at you 100 miles per hour — should be accompanied by the forces of inertia that act on a body moving at such a speed. Naturally, virtual reality can’t transport a body at 100 miles per hour; it can only maintain the illusion of doing so.”
Again, that’s not what I’m talking about, and while that problem “may be unsolvable”, it’s really irrelevant to the whole idea.
It is still correct to use an apostrophe to make a plural of lowercase letters. It is also still a correct option to make a plural of abbreviations and numbers using an apostrophe. I had two tv’s in the ’60’s but no DVD’s or cd’s — so mind your p’s and q’s.
Not holographic, stereoscopic.
-jcr
I always joked that Apple would make a “holographic” display. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it’s pretty funny that Apple files a patent like this… Now, I actually believe Apple will one day create a real holographic display.