If patents are to be believed, Apple is working on the creation of the world’s first glasses-free 3D display that would produce holographic images using a screen made up of “pixel-sized domes” that would be read differently by the human eye depending on where they’re viewing from.
The patent itself explains the technology like this:
An exceptional aspect of the invention is that it can produce viewing experiences that are virtually indistinguishable from viewing a true hologram. Such a “pseudo-holographic” image is a direct result of the ability to track and respond to observer movements.
By tracking movements of the eye locations of the observer, the left and right 3D sub-images are adjusted in response to the tracked eye movements to produce images that mimic a real hologram. The invention can accordingly continuously project a 3D image to the observer that recreates the actual viewing experience that the observer would have when moving in space around and in the vicinity of various virtual objects displayed therein. This is the same experiential viewing effect that is afforded by a hologram.
It’s not known at this time whether Apple would use this technology for 3D television or some other application. The company released a statement that it does not comment on patents.
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