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The Devil's Advocate - TMO Scoop: Apple Files Patent for Looking Glass
by
- January 25th, 2006
From the out of left-field department, on June 21, 2004, Apple filed for patent application no. 20060007222 for an "Integrated Sensing Display." Of course just because Apple filed for a patent application does not mean the company will release a product; but in this case, let's hope they do.
Basically this invention morphs a camera with a screen. And I'm not talking about putting an iSight above the screen. The screen's surface area is the camera. Each pixel would have an image capture element. So I theorize you could just put a piece of paper in front of the screen, and it could just appear like a reverse-mirror-dissolve onto the screen. It could be quite the intuitive and "magic" way to capture images of all kinds.
Mirror mirror on the wall...
It also fixes a problem that cannot be fixed with an iSight as this panel would let "a user ... maintain eye contact with someone on screen because the camera is 'in' the screen."
The patent application shows that an image sensor would be located next to each pixel:
Display screen (300) with image sensors (305) forming a sensor array
It's not clear what the effective resolution of each image capture sensor would be, however, even if each element had some marginal resolution, the effective resolution of a 30" LCD capture screen would be very high.
Cost & Applications?
The application notes that this technology could be integrated into many display technologies and form factors including CRTs, Plasmas, LCDs and PDAs.
Individual image sensor
It's not clear just how much it would cost to use millions of image capture elements per screen; it likely would be cost prohibitive for consumers, at least initially. Also, I'm not sure how useful this would be to the average user. Indeed, the patent application notes that such a device could be useful for medical imaging.
Anyway, I'm just happy to see something so creative come out of any company. If the display "sees" you, and can sense positions, new user interface advances like gesture-sensitive touch-screens (check out these videos) become more likely to come our way. In a world overstuffed with mediocrity, sometimes its enough if something is just cool and fun for its own sake.
is an attorney. Please don't hold that against him. This work does not necessarily reflect the views and/or opinions of The Mac Observer, any third parties, or even John for that matter. No assertions of fact are being made, but rather the reader is simply asked to consider the possibilities.
You can send your comments directly to me, or you can also post your comments below.
Most Recent Columns From The Devil's Advocate
- Mac UI Ain't All That: The Future & History of the User Interface - August 15th
- MacWindows: The New Trojan Wars - April 4th
- TMO Scoop: Apple Files Patent for Looking Glass - January 25th
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Observer Comments
Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:59 am Subject: Cool....and kind of scary
It's certainly cool, but I can't help thinking of 1984. It's awfully scary. I like being able to A) choose not to have a camera hooked up, or B) Just cover up the darned lense. I sure wouldn't want a virus-writer unknowingly accessing my monitor's "looking glass" (more a risk for Windows users, of course, but still). If the feature's there in the monitor, I don't know how such manipulation could really be avoided.
QuoteMikuro wrote:
It's certainly cool, but I can't help thinking of 1984. It's awfully scary. I like being able to A) choose not to have a camera hooked up, or B) Just cover up the darned lense. I sure wouldn't want a virus-writer unknowingly accessing my monitor's "looking glass" (more a risk for Windows users, of course, but still). If the feature's there in the monitor, I don't know how such manipulation could really be avoided.
I have heard that the little green light by the camera in the iMacs is hard wired in such a way that it HAS to be on for the camera to work. So it would be impossible to hack...it's a hardware thing.
Now, that being said I can imagine a screen like this would be much more complicated and such a device might be impossible on a device like that.
But anyway, I thought I'd put your mind at ease about the current cameras out there at least.
Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:25 am Subject: Apple’s been thinking about this for years
Well, reminds me of three concept pieces by Apple: Parkbench Navigator, Knowledge Navigator and Future Shock, the latter two being discussed here.
Thu Jan 26, 2006 1:30 am Subject: Re: Cool....and kind of scary
QuoteSmall White Car wrote:
I have heard that the little green light by the camera in the iMacs is hard wired in such a way that it HAS to be on for the camera to work. So it would be impossible to hack...it's a hardware thing.
Now, that being said I can imagine a screen like this would be much more complicated and such a device might be impossible on a device like that.
But anyway, I thought I'd put your mind at ease about the current cameras out there at least.
Good to know. With the current stuff it's not so much of an issue, because you can just cover the lens or turn it off. I assume there would be some hardware "off" switch on the new thing, too, but...well, obviously the technology isn't made to be kept off all the time.
If this technology becomes a vital part of the UI as Mr. Kheit suggests, then it would really have to be on whenever you use your computer. That's what makes it scary.
QuoteLOL. A simple chip to assemble the image before sending it to the main system would cost what like $5?Guest wrote:
So, this screen has like a gazillion eyes looking at you with fly like vision. It would take all of the processors' power to reconcile those images into one coherent image.
QuoteMikuro wrote:
It's certainly cool, but I can't help thinking of 1984. It's awfully scary. I like being able to A) choose not to have a camera hooked up, or B) Just cover up the darned lense. I sure wouldn't want a virus-writer unknowingly accessing my monitor's "looking glass" (more a risk for Windows users, of course, but still). If the feature's there in the monitor, I don't know how such manipulation could really be avoided.
I thought the exact same thing when I first read it. Cool technology though.
QuoteGuest wrote:
This has beaten Apple to the punch. Might not be the same tech, but the camera is supposedly in the screen. go to www.dell.com, then go to gaming, and finally to 2006 Consumer Electronics Show. This is more like what I was hoping from Apple than a repackaged Powerbook with a lame-pro name.
What a wonderfully off-topic post! It includes a built-in camera; like the MacBook Pro or iMac. It does not contain anything at all like what this patent describes.
Thu Jan 26, 2006 3:19 pm Subject: A solved problem already
QuoteGuest wrote:
So, this screen has like a gazillion eyes looking at you with fly like vision. It would take all of the processors' power to reconcile those images into one coherent image.
This is essentially how a digital camera forms an image, so this is no big deal. In fact recent advances in the technology promise incredible performance gains.
Thu Jan 26, 2006 6:58 pm Subject: Parkbench Navigator
QuoteRainy Day wrote:QuoteGuest wrote:
So, this screen has like a gazillion eyes looking at you with fly like vision. It would take all of the processors' power to reconcile those images into one coherent image.
This is essentially how a digital camera forms an image, so this is no big deal. In fact recent advances in the technology promise incredible performance gains.
Uh, no. The camera has a LENS, which focusses an image on the sensor array. Think of it this way: take a piece of photographic film and expose it for a short time to the light from a room. Would it pick up an image of the room? No. In order to create a recognizable image, each sensor must pick up light from only one small part of the view. That can be done with a lens or by putting the sensors at the bottom of a "deep" (relatively) hole, lined in black, so that light coming from directions other than straight ahead is blocked.
QuoteAgreed. You'd think they could use all that talent and brainpower for something useful.Guest wrote:
It's really sad, and kind of scary, that Apple would be "first" to introduce this technology.
QuoteYes, I can, and no, it would not. It would be completely in character for that cabal of criminals, and the even worse thing is that the entire right-wing neo-con chorus would chime in and agree. Anyone who disagrees would promptly be labeled as unpatriotic and accused of aiding and abetting terrorism. The phrase "I have nothing to hide" would be the automatic response from the lemmings.Can't you see a right-wing gov't passing legislation requiring such a sensor to be on and Internet-accessible, as long as the computer is being used, "for National Security purposes"... "to identify and track terrorists"...etc.?
Would that be out of character for the Cheney/Rove/Rumsfeld administration of today?
I don't like having the built-in iSight on iMacs, and, no I don't have one. This would be worse, much worse.
Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:08 pm Subject: Imagine what this would do for malware & spyware!!!
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