Apple patents glasses-less 3D projection

                    A diagram of how Apple's proposed 3D projection system would work.

                                          (Credit: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)

It's not that much of a surprise that Apple thinks watching 3D content with plastic glasses is dumb.

And the company that's all about sleek, cool, and simple has actually been granted a patent on a method of projecting a 3D image that can be perceived properly without glasses.

The system would work like this: each pixel would be projected onto a reflective, textured surface, which is then bounced into a viewer's left and right eye separately, producing the 3D, or stereoscopic, effect. it would sense the locations of both eyes of the each viewer, so multiple people could watch from a variety of angles.

The goal of the technology they've cooked up is "inexpensive auto-stereoscopic 3D displays that allow the observer complete and unencumbered freedom of movement," according to the patent application the Patent Office granted yesterday. In other words, 3D displays should have no need for special glasses, and viewers shouldn't be limited by viewing angle, or be forced to sit and not move in order to see the 3D effect.

Interestingly, the patent breaks down why they think current offerings for glasses-free 3D aren't good enough, including parallax barrier, volumetric, and hologram.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20024309-260.html#ixzz17PB7RH00