Apple has been granted a patent for a projection system that can enable multiple viewers to simultaneously view 3D images without the need for those dorky 3D glasses.
At its core the system involves a screen, projector, sensor, and a 3D imager, which work together to allow multiple viewers to perceive 3D images from nearly any position in a room without glasses. This flexible autostereoscopic 3D effect is achieved by tracking user's positions and projecting pixels onto a reflective, textured surface that then bounces separate images into the left and right eye. Virtual interaction methods with the 3D projections are also described in the document, implying the technology has aspirations beyond passive viewing.
Speaking of aspirations, Apple's approach clearly seeks to fix many common 3D issues at once. The most obvious is literally taking 3D glasses of the picture -- which we firmly support. On the flip side, the design addresses common faults with current glasses-free options too such as: ghosting and narrow viewing angles, while still keeping commercial viability in mind. That sounds magical to us, but considering the patent was filed back in 2006, we still expect 3D to be handled the old fashion way for quite a while to come.
Although many companies are involved in auto-stereoscopic research and development, Apple's patent confidently picks apart the limitations of three categories of those efforts:
- Volumetric displays, according to the patent, present images that "appear ghosted or transparent."
- The parallax barrier method "typically requires the observer to remain stationary in one location."
- Dynamically presented holographic images require "far greater computational ability and bandwidth than is generally required for [other auto-stereoscopic displays]...in real time and at commercially acceptable costs.
As each viewer moves in relation to the screen, their individualized views would be captured by the tracking sensor, and that information would cause the projection angle to change for that viewer.
The patent also describes methods for allowing viewers to virtually interact with the display by manipulating 3D projections, in addition to what it refers to as "holographic acceleration" — meaning that the displayed image can "move relative to the observer correspondingly faster than the observer's actual movement or displacement," with the level of acceleration determined by a "selected factor."
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