Apple Inc. has patented a 3D display system that uses holographic hardware, officials announced this week.
The system works with digital images and uses 3D gesture-based input from the user to control it, according to TechCrunch.
The application was posted on Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The filing suggested that the technology would be able to project 3D images while also being able to track and monitor user movements with the projected image. This, in turn, would allow for a 3D user interface, The Register reported.
Apple engineers Chrisoph Kraj and Marduke Yousefpor described the capabilities of the system in the application.
"The 3D interactive display system may include a display system for creating a primary 3D image, an optical system for creating a secondary 3D image in mid-air based on the primary 3D image and a sensor system for detecting user input as a user interacts with the secondary 3D image," Kraj and Yousefpor said. "Based on the detected user input, the display system may alter the primary 3D image, which may, in turn, alter the secondary image produced by the optical system. This type of feedback mechanism allows one or more users to interact with and provide user input to the projected 3D image in mid-air."
The display uses two parabolic mirrors to project a type of hologram image above a light source. The user could use gestures, such as touching, to interact with the projected image, and the gestures would be detected with lasers built into the technology, TechCrunch reported.
The lasers relay data concerning the date and location of the broken path. An on-board processor then interprets the data, which would then be translated into interaction data.
Apple has not mentioned any plans involving the development of a 3D display or adding the technology to the iPhone or iPad, The Register reported. The company's technology is far from being able to develop such a device.
But recent advancements in holographic projection technology, coupled with Apple's recent application for a 3D mounted virtual reality headset, suggest that the company may consider development of 3D interfaces.
