Apple Researching 3D Stereoscopic Displays

[organic bond]

already happening

If they could do a production model for under $10k, we'd buy a dozen, and we're just a small firm.

Philips is already producing a 20" stereo screen which costs 4450 Euro = 6865 $.

Besides, “DreamWorks Animation SKG has announced that all of its future movies will be shot in 3-D, for release beginning in 2009.”

http://www.abbado.com/?p=176

According to different sources, Mitsubishi recently demonstrated a 3D Blu-ray player which converts normal movies into 3D movies, by splitting each frame into two frames, one for each eye.

Mitsubishi, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, and Texas Instruments are working on stereoscopic displays and 2D to 3D converters.

http://www.abbado.com/?p=192

 

[cthomet]

According to different sources, Mitsubishi recently demonstrated a 3D Blu-ray player which converts normal movies into 3D movies, by splitting each frame into two frames, one for each eye.

wow that is pretty cool. it would be nice to have it just as an option though, because i dont know if i would want it every time

 

[MacFly123]

Philips is already producing a 20" stereo screen which costs 4450 Euro = 6865 $.

Besides, “DreamWorks Animation SKG has announced that all of its future movies will be shot in 3-D, for release beginning in 2009.”

http://www.abbado.com/?p=176

According to different sources, Mitsubishi recently demonstrated a 3D Blu-ray player which converts normal movies into 3D movies, by splitting each frame into two frames, one for each eye.

Mitsubishi, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, and Texas Instruments are working on stereoscopic displays and 2D to 3D converters.

http://www.abbado.com/?p=192

I have been envisioning this technology for like 15 years lol. I'm sure a lot of us have. I think all the people in here that think this would be a flop really need to pull their heads out of the sand lol. It is seriously like saying...... WHAT??? A box you can see things??? Why would anyone want that when they have a perfectly good radio??? Lol, seriously This is the future, it will come!

Now like I said, lets just get it in OLED @ 4K

 

[smeagol]

Looks like the days of Star Wars like iChat are fast approaching... Look out rebel scum

 

[Stuart in Oz]

This is a very, very interesting patent from Apple - and not only for the reasons you might first think.

Whilst 3D images on our laptops will be very cool the really important thing about this patent is that it shows that Apple are actively developing in the field of holographic technology. That has a whole lot of implications and 3D displays are only one of them.

The science of 3D images (aka holograms) - the physics, and the mathematics underpinning the physics - is pretty much done. It was mostly developed between the 1940’s and the 1970’s. We humans understand how holograms work - we know what we have to do to light to produce the 3D image. It’s the technical challenges of recording, processing and projecting again that we don’t know how to overcome. It’s great to see Apple working on this topic - if anyone can make it work I’m sure it is them.

But here’s the thing. The same mathematics and physics that lets us create a holographic image also tell us how to store information in massive quantities using light encoding methods. A lot of the core technology for encoding Hologramatic images can also be used to encode massive amounts of regular information. Lots of work has been going into doing so onto physical substances, such as certain types of crystals. So what, I hear you ask?

Think of it like this. Your 2012 ipod touch has a small crystal in it, with data being written to and from the molecules of the crystal with a special (but tiny) LED. Storage capacity in your iPod touch? 500GB. Power consumption? 1/20th of what the current generation flash memory uses. Read speeds? 1Gb/sec. And, of course, it may well have a lovely 3D screen as well.

We are just now starting to really understand and figure out how to use photonics - the manipulation and application of light and it will change our world, just as electronics has already done, and electricity did before that.

It is very interesting that Apple is already actively working in this field.


PS - Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hologram for a more comprehensive overview.

 

[Everythingisnt]

Exciting news - it's always interesting to see these kinds of concepts emerging into the domain of viable technology...

 

[Dizzy11523]

I'm laughing my ass off at the one eyed wife!

 

[katejones]

Bring on the Matte VS 3D Stereoscopic threads!


p.s awesome I been waiting since I was a child for 3d to hit mainstream and according to back to the future 2 it should have happened awhile ago

 

[nhshah]

I have the same problem, even if I can see from both eyes, I am astygmatic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astygmatism) and I have developed the tendency of using a preferred eye. This condition is very, very common, it has absolutely no impact on everyday's life, but for the ability to see artificially generated stereoscopic images. People like me see the world in 3D because our brain is reconstructing the image. Remember that vision happens in the brain. But we cannot reconstruct something that does NOT exist and it is just an optical illusion.

So, my 2 cents here. If ever Apple will try this on the market it will be a huge flop.

It will be as big of a flop as DLP TV's.....
which if you know anything about current TV's sets, ISN'T much of a flop.

People with atygmatic also have issues watching DLP TV's. They experience an intense flicker and just end up with a headache because of the conjuction of using a tube and lcd technology.

DLP TV's are still great, if you find out you have an issue with it, return it.
If Apple does follow through on this(which I have my own slight doubts about but not enough background to actually go out with my opinion), then yes, they will be the only ones with this product available and this will be the limited technology. Don't get upset because you can't enjoy what other people can...yes we all feel bad for you..boo hoo....but thats how technology works. First generation products are not the only items on this planet. Why do you think Apple has 3rd, 4th, 5th generation iPods?
Technology is always improving and developing, we don't need people or the general public to in ANY way try to deter our worlds technology leaders from developing some of the best inventions. They have enough other crap to go through, ragging on them would just be wrong.

(and most of this applies to the guy with the one-eyed wife too....but i think she gets an extra boo-hoo-hoo)

 

[kironin]

The brain has amazing spatial ability allowing compensating for a lack of true 3d information to approximate the sensation and ability to function as if you can see 3d. The analog is that we really have two 2d images the brain 'creates' a 3d image from, there isn't really a 3d image to start with, but the basic piece of my point is that '3d' as we define it is two different 2d images + brain processing, if you can only take in one 2d image, you can't do 3d.

However if you can take in sequentially different views in the time that a scene has not had time to change much, then you can regain true 3d information for brain processing. Head motion with compensating software and micro-saccades could certainly I think help a one eyed person see 3d.

Close one eye, you perception of depth doesn't go away. Neither eye from moment to moment is taking in the same image due constant completely unconscious very fast darting back and forth of the eyeball called micro-saccades. That Scientific American report was interesting in suggesting a location in the brain is still processing depth with one eye. As you move objects around in space because the one eye is constantly taken in spatially shifted views as the eyeball dances around. Not only does micro-saccades prevent blindness from saturation of photopigments, it provides a constant stream of different views of a scene. Not surprising that the brain takes advantage of this. Birds and other animals with eyes on the sides of their heads with very limited or no overlapping vision have less depth perception than we do but it's not none. By moving its head up and down, a single eye can see an object from different angles. The brain does the rest, processing the different images to give improved depth perception. So certainly software could do the equivalent of moving your head back and forth constantly to make the depth perception better.

 

[winterspan]

Autostereoscopic no-google 3D tech is almost here!

I can't believe it's 2008 and the complexities of 3D entertainment have yet to be fully realized. I have for a while now been thinking that if anyone would finally tackle this holy grail, it would be Apple. After all, has anyone really improved upon the Viewmaster in the last 30 years?

Sure seems like it doesn't it... That is for people like you and I who haven't been able to attend CEBIT/CES/etc and see the new technology. "Real" immersive 3D technology is actually a LOT closer to realization than you think. There are many companies playing in this field who have already shown of prototype autostereoscopic 3D display technology.. i.e. projection or LCD flat-panel 3D technology that DOES NOT REQUIRE THE USE OF SPECIAL GOGGLES or any other hardware on the viewer. There are many different technologies used to achieve the effect, but all of them break down to the simple concept of providing different images to each eyeball, and most can support multiple viewers. One of many challenges in the past has been to make a system that can be seen from any angle and distance.. i.e doesn't require the user(s) to view the display from a narrow zone directly in front of it. I have not seen any in real life, but apparently there are commercial products that achieve this effect very well, but are still very new and expensive.

Sharp, Fraunhofer, Philips, and a bunch of spinoffs and startups are all in this business of producing commercial and consumer autostereoscopic systems. With this many competitors and R&D dollars being put in , how can this technology not take off?

Here are some links to companies producing this technology from wikipedia:
http://www.3dc.gr.jp/english/index.html
http://www.alioscopy.com/
http://www.hhi.fraunhofer.de/en/dep...es/complete-interaction-systems/3d-kiosk.html
http://www.iart3d.com/
http://www.newsight.com/
http://www.tridelity.de/
http://www.inition.co.uk/inition/product.php?URL_=product_stereovis_philips&SubCatID_=1
http://www.seefront.com/
http://www.seereal.com
http://www.spatialview.com/


As far as home applications, wouldn't this be great for gaming. I'm not a big gamer, but I can definitly see the possibilities. Not only could you have full 3D, immersive games, but two players could both play on the same screen and have entirely different full-size viewpoints. Much better than splitscreen play.

I have the same problem, even if I can see from both eyes, I am astygmatic and I have developed the tendency of using a preferred eye. This condition is very, very common....
So, my 2 cents here. If ever Apple will try this on the market it will be a huge flop.

I was talking to some other researchers about this... the problem, they say, is that 30% of people (with 2 eyes) have reduced or no 3d perception... aparently that's a large enough group that it may not even be commercially viable

Although interesting, I don't see this making it into a mainstream consumer level product (unless I'm completely missing the point). Imagine the hype after viewing a product in 3D? Everyone will be drinking the Kool-Aid then...

Asygmatism, blindness in one eye, nausea from 3d, etc obviously are problems for a certain minority in the community, however this group is statistically insignificant to prevent a rollout of a consumer 3D technology. There are plenty of able-visioned people who would enjoy and/or purchase the products to make such a thing viable. Don't believe me? Take a look at 3D digital cinema... Animated feature films in 3D are taking in 2x-3x the revenue of their 2d counterparts in theaters. To this extent, just recently one of the big animation houses (Pixar or Dreamworks or similar) just announced that they are going to create a 3D version of EVERY FUTURE FILM because of the added revenue potential, even though it adds tens of millions in production costs.

And one thing I haven't yet mentioned, current 3D films in theaters use DLP and REQUIRE SPECIAL GOGGLES! What Apple's patent (and all the other companies researching 3D) is talking about is autostereoscopic 3D that doesn't require the viewer to use any eyewear or other hardware.

Uh, wait sec. Stereo capable graphics cards have been used in realtime CAD/CAM/CAE for a looong time. I suppose Apple can pursue a process patent just as well as any patent squatter can.

Did you actually read more than three words from the article? It is not talking about stereo output from video card. It is also not referring to any existing type of 3D stereoscopic display technology requiring the user to wear goggles. We are talking about autostereoscopic display technology that does not require the viewer(s) to use any type of external hardware.

3D screen...the tech seems simple enough, in principle although, i think it will be hard to implement as it can only project to one person

Apple's patent and the tech of nearly all the other players researching autostereoscopic technology can handle multiple simultaneous viewers viewers.

 

[stereoron]

Wow. Now that would be something.

it a old technology,been tried over and over nothing new here at all.....limited sweet spot for viewing 3D.......Mark Cuban, George Lucas, James Camron etc big motion picture people are working on some neet 3D stuff.....you will see/here about it soon

 

[Ron Aldrich]

I know it sounds great to make video games go 3D and other high end graphic eye candy. The problem though, is that the high end is high end already -- there isn't much computing power to spare for the certainly intensive task of real-time 3D imaging for a moving viewer. So if you want 3D tetris, sure thing, but if you want 3D Halo, it's just too expensive to build, and it will be for a good while.

Actually, for a single viewer, the amount of computing needed to create a stereo image is less than double what it takes for a normal display.

 

[davidy]

Great idea, only problem is that only one person get see the 3D effect at a time.

I think Apple feels differently...

Apple also claims it can accommodate multiple observers to provide "a unique and personal 3D visual experience to each individual observer, with each visual experience (i.e., projected image) selectively being similar or different from the others, as desired."

 

[billdoublewide]

re: already happening

TI's entry:
http://kotaku.com/359988/texas-instruments-dual-view-look-ma-no-split-screen
http://www.dlp.com/tech/press_releases_details.aspx?id=1334

 

[sleepingworker]

it a old technology,been tried over and over nothing new here at all.....limited sweet spot for viewing 3D.......Mark Cuban, George Lucas, James Camron etc big motion picture people are working on some neet 3D stuff.....you will see/here about it soon

Well, until you have it on your PC or TV, it's still new technology as it applies to home use.

 

[RHD]

A new patent application from Apple details how to implement a 3-dimensional stereoscopic display. While 3d images have been around for years, Apple points out that computational power has advanced to the point where these true 3d images can be rendered and animated in realtime. Apple specifically explores the implementation of "autostereoscopic" systems that don't require the viewer to be wearing special glasses or goggles.

Apple believes its system addresses issues found in previous implementations of 3d and involves tracking the observer to ensure proper rendering of the 3d image regardless of where their exact position. Their system involves real time modulation of left/right sub images to be projected to the observer's left/right eyes individually. Apple also claims it can accommodate multiple observers to provide "a unique and personal 3D visual experience to each individual observer, with each visual experience (i.e., projected image) selectively being similar or different from the others, as desired."

As with all patent applications, we're uncertain when this will make its way out of the labs and into consumers hands, but Apple appears to be continuing to explore alternative interfaces for consumer use. What's interesting is that this is not the first time we've heard of Apple exploring stereoscopic displays. In 2002, Apple was said "to have other flat-panel technologies cooking in the labs, including stereoscopic displays."

Article Link

CAN Apple patent Pepper's Ghost? Even stereoscopically?

 

[winterspan]

TI's entry:
http://kotaku.com/359988/texas-instruments-dual-view-look-ma-no-split-screen
http://www.dlp.com/tech/press_releases_details.aspx?id=1334

Yeah thats the idea... gaming on a fullscreen for each user.. the problem with that TI DLP solution is that it is NOT autostereoscopic, the users still have to wear stupid glasses. But mix that idea with autostereoscopic tech like the companies have in my post up above and you've got yourself a winner...

 

[fotografer]

Gimmicky

This technology is awesome and it's great to see that apple is always looking several steps into the future. I gotta say, though, I don't really see any practical application of this beyond novelty and gimmick. Case in point: IMAX 3D movies. These have virtually gone the way of the Dodo.

I could really only see this being useful to specialty fields like CAD, medicine and possibly interior design. But I fail to see how creating music, editing photos, making movies, navigating the internet, checking email, conducting business or any other activity the general consumer would use their Mac for would benefit from a 3D display.

It would be cool-looking, though.

 

[sleepingworker]

This technology is awesome and it's great to see that apple is always looking several steps into the future. I gotta say, though, I don't really see any practical application of this beyond novelty and gimmick. Case in point: IMAX 3D movies. These have virtually gone the way of the Dodo.

I could really only see this being useful to specialty fields like CAD, medicine and possibly interior design. But I fail to see how creating music, editing photos, making movies, navigating the internet, checking email, conducting business or any other activity the general consumer would use their Mac for would benefit from a 3D display.

It would be cool-looking, though.

Games. Not that there's much money in it

 

[color guy]

I think Apple feels differently...

from davidy

I feel apple thinks differently

 

[wingsofgabriel]

some clarity

I think one of the patented technologies is about processing power and viewer tracking rather than optics. some of the community apparently think that it involves rendering 2 different images for the two eyes or something like that. As i understood it, it is about storing a 3d version of an image and showing you an angle that just fits your current viewing position. Thus you will feel like you are actually viewing the object in reality, just like going around to inspect it. In this sense i do not see why people with one functional eye can not benefit from it. this of course does not concern the projection type which is unlikely to happen to the consumer market soon.

and by the way...please stop being rude to people with impairments (some of ya).

 

[gnasher729]

Just heard something today about research in macaques that suggests one-eyed depth perception is possible by processing information with respect to eye motion. Check it out here: http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=C8F2C76E-BD26-930D-98653F8A716AF422&sc=rss

3D perception comes from a lot of sources. The trivial one: Objects are smaller when they are further away, and they are hazier (over long distances). Both head and body movement and eye movement give information in the brain. You don't need any monkeys to test this, it works fine in human beings.

 

[apope8]

ha! looking at a computer thats staring you dead in the eye all the time! WEIRD!

 

[carfreak12321]

dont we already have something like 3D
for example the playstation 3 has a game called eye of judgment and that looks something like what we can see in the future!!

neway my main question is what does this patent mean for the future products of apple