Re-inventing the 3D wheel
MacRumors has unearthed an Apple patent application that appears to offer users a new way of viewing complex 3D objects.
Whilst today we can do little better than click-to-rotate 3D images on a screen using a keyboard/mouse, or don a pair of stereoscopic specs, Apple is attempting to simplify matters by programming the display to adapt itself based on the position of a viewer.
It's not yet entirely clear how Apple's boffins intend to achieve this, but the patent covers a range of possibilities from infrared to electromagnetic fields to simple video using the device's in-built camera.
Apple also has another idea up its sleeve to transform 3D imaging into a more personalised and appealing experience:
"To make the displayed objects more realistic to the user, the electronic device may detect the user's environment and map the detected environment to the displayed objects," says the patent.
"For example, using a camera, the electronic device may capture images of the user and of the user's environment. The electronic device may then simultaneously modify the object displayed based on the user's perspective and map the images of the captured environment to the displayed object."
Apple might also try to use the "visual properties of different surfaces of the displayed object (e.g., reflection and refraction characteristics), and apply the visual properties to the portions of the detected image mapped on each surface."
What this will actually translate to in practice is anyone's guess, but seeing as Apple more or less has its pick of the cream of the engineering crop, we'd imagine this patent will be one to watch in the near future.
