The system described in Apple’s patent would use a projector with a scanning beam that picks up your movements via a receiver, shown as a secondary device. Your movements are transferred to the system and a user can interact in a virtual space using their body as their only input device:
To be effective, it is also important that such devices be capable, when desired or necessary, of economically but effectively and precisely providing feedback to the user. Thus, such devices should incorporate audio and/or visual mechanisms for reporting to the user the effects and results of the 3D input.
Sound familiar?
Apple does point out that the projector could be used to show holographic imagery, something the Kinect doesn’t currently do — well, officially anyway. Think Minority Report meets Kinect.
The patents also indicate Apple’s intention to employ the technology in a wide range of applications including medical diagnostics, entertainment, flight simulation, robotics, gaming and (everyone’s favourite ’90s buzzword) virtual reality. Microsoft currently uses the tech to make out-of-shape people dance in their living room. [Patently Apple]
Lillee
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 9:55 AMPerfect example of how the US patent system is broken
Juan Bar
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 10:02 AMPrimesense, the company that holds the patents for the tech inside kinect, is gona have a field day suing apple…or not…considering primsense have deals with the israily military…apple should be careful.
Alex K
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 10:09 AMWhy don’t they just patent fucking everything.
Paul
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 10:21 AMWhy not? Apple also claimed the Pinch to zoom and swipe gestures, which where first shown on a developer version of what became the Windows Surface computer (originally it used a wall projection before LCD’s where big enough and cheap enough to put into a table)
Tpav
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 10:32 AMLets see what Microsoft is going to do about it
olearymo
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 2:08 PMNothing. Microsoft and Apple have a legal agreement, neither is allowed to sue the other over patents.
Mike
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 10:53 AMThey should really only patent a working prototype version, rather then some piece of paper with drawings.
Ruen
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 11:00 AMOh the inevitable legal battle between Primesense/Microsoft vs Apple is gonna be a doozy.
Penmonicus
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 11:15 AMI am highly disliking that companies can now patent all the things I imagined when I was 6.
TSH
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 11:27 AMAFAIK Kinect doesn’t use a projector and scanning beam to pick up your movements: it uses a stereoscopic camera + sensor system to pick up your movements in 3D space.
As such, it’s an entirely different method of detecting movement. HOWEVER it is curiously similar to a tech demo I saw a couple of years ago, where a scanning laser finds mosquitoes in 3D space by the distinctive cadence of their wingbeats, then fries their wings with a strong pulse:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser
video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4tPrcePdGM
TSH
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 11:28 AMsorry, make that “last year” – feels like an idea from long ago, made real! :–P
Michael
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 1:55 PMUmmm, the kinect projects a infrared map that is read by a ir camera to create a depth map. The second camera is just a standard RBG vga camera. I suggest to google on how it works.
JSH
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 1:23 PMapple invented the xbox, it’s in the bible.
BOOM
Norgan
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 2:00 PMThe US Patent Office is just plain broken. These should never have been approved, for at the very least a commercial product already for sale that performs the same function in a very similar manner.
Patents are invalid if you have already made public and/or sold the technology.
Paul
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 2:14 PMAbsolutely broken patent system, what a joke. I don’t know how they sleep at night. A is for assholes.
Ferret
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 2:50 PMThe funniest (in a not-ha-ha way) thing about this story is I recall reading another article only a few weeks ago where Apple was having a cry about Samsung and Motorola having an anti-competitive patent monopoly in the mobile space…
Dan
Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 4:40 PMI hope Apple die in a fire.
They can take the US Patent Office along with them.
Charles
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 11:43 AMThe USPTO is the most seriously screwed up bureaucracy ever created. I shudder to think of the billions or trillions of dollars wasted litigating and thousands of empty careers spent churning the feces that masquerades as invention.
Everywhere the government is trying to pick winners and losers, the USPTO needs to admit that they are the village idiot of intellect and, in an act of mercy, shut themselves down. They add nothing, cause enormous harm, are a waste of human spirit.
Shut them down, let innovation fly.