Apple’s recent patent indicates at projection of 3D virtual keyboard on air to allow mid-air typing.
Apple never ceases to amaze us. Be it laptops, tablets, smartphones, and most recently smart watches – Apple’s products create a storm in every market it enters. In the last few decades, companies have sprung up and vanished. But thanks to its continuous effort to make things better, it seems Apple will immortalize itself.
The tech giant in its trademark style aims to simplify existing 3D technologies and methods and achieve the impossible. Just like the 1980s and 90s era when it made the personal computer a household name, it aims to drive another technology revolution. Complete details can be found in this patent.
The patent is related to projection of a virtual keyboard on air by using visible light source and then using infrared light to measure the distance of the user’s hand and his hand movements.
After detection of the distance of the user hand and his gestures, the virtual keyboard (or object) gets adjusted in the air as per user convenience to record his inputs.
One embodiment of patent mentions to use different designs modifications to enhance the user experience. For example, appropriate sound effects could be added based on the virtual interaction being displayed. Additionally, the colored images may be displayed on the display unit, making the whole experience even more realistic.
Apart from that, the use of invisible infrared light for scanning procedure wouldn’t be evident to the user, giving a better overall experience.
Applications of Apple’s 3D Virtual Keyboard
While it becomes actually impractical to count the number of applications of this technology just like the PC and the internet, we’ve summing up a few here:
Eliminating Cable and Device Clutter
Apple’s 3D virtual keyboard could eliminate the use of any external devices like keyboards and mouse with sophisticated gesture recognition.
No clutter of dangling wires and external input devices. Additionally, if the strength of the beam is increased, the range from which the devices could be operated would increase – giving the user more room to operate from!
The advantages of the present invention is that it can be easily utilized with the widest range of existing and future devices for extending their capability.
That said, below are some of the futuristic applications of the patented technology.
‘Amplifying’ Virtual Reality?
Virtual reality, which is still in infancy, could be up next for disruption. With replication of 3D images made sharp and simplified enough, the world of virtual reality could experience a thunderbolt and get advanced by decades. No surprises there.
Disrupting Business Travel
Let’s add a bit of virtual reality here as well. With the amount of sophisticated technology coming up in VR, it could be possible to replicate the 3D imaging experience remotely.
Imagine an image of yourself getting 3D projected in a conference room with a dozen other members who have been enabled to see images that have been scanned by Apple’s 3D technology.
Why would you need to travel at all if that would be possible? It’d be like video conferencing in 3D. With more time and sophistication, you could even get a near real experience.
Bye Bye Medical Tourism:
Patients have to fly in and out of countries for specialist opinions and surgical procedures. Thanks to Apple’s new tech, surgeries could be performed remotely.
Gesture recognition is what this new piece of technology focuses on. Surgery is all about skill of the hand. If a gesture can be recorded in 3D space so effectively, it can surely be replicated through other means as input for an electronic robot.
Disrupting Gaming:
Games could become as real as never before. Imagine fighting off a virtual opponent by actually practicing Kung Fu moves or playing baseball in real with the AI on the screen.
Changing The Face of Retail
What if you could actually see an almost real projection of the latest wear you wanted to gift your lady? Think how high the customer engagement graph would go up?
Defense and Military
Drones are controlled by pilots using simulation systems. What if those are removed by Apple’s 3D gesture recognition technology to make movements and controls easier for the user – maybe in a way that suits a pilot better than conventional controls?
It could redefine warfare – especially with advances in robot technology – there could be war machines and droids that could be controlled remotely through mere gestures!
Physical Training
Consider training an individual in an exercise that involves a lot of physical movement – say for example dancing. Apple’s 3D technology could do well in actually recognizing body movement and analyzing it with simulation software.
We could change the way people learn to dance! Or for another example a cricket batsman could use it to actually correct his stroke more effectively than current techniques for the same!
Also, Apple is working on other innovative future technologies which can make a difference.
