Apple patents glasses-free holographic 3D display

Mid May the U.S. Patent and Trade Office reveals a new patent application from Apple, original submitted Jan. 14th of 2010. Under the title Three-Dimensional Display System it describes an "angularly responsive reflective surface".

A projector generates an image onto a special screen, which reflects the images into the right and left eye of the observer.

Furthermore the position of an observer is tracked by an advanced camera system / light sensor syncs the projector system to ensuring that the light beam for the left and right images would correctly reach the observer's respective left and right eyes:

"The positions of one or more observers are also tracked in real time so that the images that are being projected to the observers can be continually customized to each observer individually. [...] The real time positional tracking of the observer(s) also enables 3D images having a realistic vertical as well as horizontal parallax."

"In addition, each 3D image can be adjusted according to the observers' individually changing viewing positions, thereby enabling personally customized and individuated 3D images to be viewed in a dynamic and changeable environment. Further, the positional tracking and positionally responsive image adjustment enable synthetization of true holographic viewing experiences."

The patent also describes "unobtrusive 3D virtual desktop" allowing users to "manipulate objects within the desktop by reaching into the virtual display" and "grasping" and "pushing" the objects.

"The manipulation of the virtual objects occurs because the feedback mechanism recognizes observer movements, such as finger movements, at the locations of the virtual objects and reconfigures the display of the virtual objects in response."

The idea of accomplishing multi-touch with projected objects in a 3D space isn't all new. In February entry Hand tracking introduces Johnny Chung Lees similar work.

Holography and settling technologies: Interdependency and ambivalent behaviour

After introducing the concept of touchable holography and its applied technologies hand tracking and airborne ultrasound tactile display, the following entry would like to regard this ensemble as a dispositiv and take a look at relation, behaviour and interaction between original holographic phenomenon and added technologies.

These two added technologies behave in an ambivalent manner, unselfish and parasitical to the same extend.

Airborne ultrasound tactile display and hand tracking put themself into service of holography, which is getting abilities, that without their support holography would not be able to accomplish. Only the positioning of additional technologies enhances the reality of a 3D virtual object. It is no longer just the eye as a witness of the object's existence. The eye's testimony gets confirmation by the sensation of touch onto the user's hand. In this process it doesn't matter if these two impressions are not received from one and the same device as a common source, as long as synchronization of their impulses is fine tuned.

The enhancement of reality is not limited just to proofing the existence of a virtual object. It also leads to new fields of applications, which require tactile feedback to make them work. Therewith settling technologies are not simply opening holography gates to new scopes, but are much more precursors of new phantasms. Regarding original holography technologies, it looks that their abilities are mostly exhausted. It can no longer keep up with all the promises, that it never made by itself. Not just to survive as a medium, but to evolve and not becoming forgotten again and as the basis for further hopes, dreams and wishes, holography is reliant to other technologies, gathering around and helping to embark to new visions.

Settling technologies do not just serve, but also behave parasitical. They (ab)use holography for their part to find application, to survive and to evolve. This remains valid for both technologies, hand tracking and airborne ultrasound tactile display. Even maybe for one a little more and for the other a little less.

In reverse also holography behaves in the same way. Part unselfish, part parasitical. It should not be about an estimation who's taking greatest advantage. It is much more about an interdependency, which this entry want to illustrate.