Apple Patent Shows iOS Devices With Built-In Pico Projectors

[Phillip Swanson]

Sick of being forced to have your friends crowd around you in a public place so they can share in the hilarity of someone else getting crotched by a rail? Apple has the answer in a new patent that shows iOS devices with built-in Pico projectors.

The patent filed by Apple shows a number of iDevices projecting video, and text on walls, which is nothing shockingly new, but the innovation is how the devices will interact with each other. The patent details the ability of the devices to share workspaces, creating a continuous display projected by two different devices. The devices could even interact with each other via gestures. This makes sense considering the patent's title is "Project Display Shared Works."

The gestures described in the patent could be detected by either a touch screen or a camera. Using the devices' cameras as a gesture detection device would allow for Kinect-like interaction with the devices. The possibilities outlined in the patent are very promising, but are probably a long way off as well. Pico projectors are battery hogs, don't project the brightest of images, and aren't an incredibly high resolution. Don't expect this to be in the iPhone 5.

Source: USPTO [via iPhoneHacks]

[KraXik]

Er.... I'm not too sure what the guys hand is doing in the bottom left picture. I'm not sure you would want something like that projected out to everyone else.... :s

[ipodtouchman77]

This would take away from the sleek design factor of apple

[AUZambo]

You'd have to be in virtually a pitch black room to be able to see the projection. Now way they can fit a lamp of any significant strength in the body of an iPhone.

I personally would rather see this as an accessory rather than a built in feature...but then again I'd bet money that this is one of those patents that never sees the light of day.

[unison999]

Didn't Samsung already have this? I remember a phone with projector built in was introduced right around when Avatar came out, so does this mean Apple going to file lawsuit against Samsung on something Samsung came out first?
Didn't Acer have something that uses shared workspace as well?
I guess combining the two means a new patent?

[hogcia]

I think this would be cool.

[jOnGarrett]

Didn't Samsung already have this? I remember a phone with projector built in was introduced right around when Avatar came out, so does this mean Apple going to file lawsuit against Samsung on something Samsung came out first?
Didn't Acer have something that uses shared workspace as well?
I guess combining the two means a new patent?

somehow, you're probably right. apple will once again take credit for someone else's invention.

[ipodtouchman77]

somehow, you're probably right. apple will once again take credit for someone else's invention.

They are not taking credit, they simply filed the patent for the technology which wasn't patented

[mobyguy77]

YES! I want, no, NEED this. It's epic. End of story. No, but seriously, I think this will be an interesting thing to see in future iDevices. The only problem is that the projector would ditch the lovely "sleekness" of iPod Touches, like ipodtouchman said

[xNEOxGENESISx]

Er.... I'm not too sure what the guys hand is doing in the bottom left picture. I'm not sure you would want something like that projected out to everyone else.... :s

LOL I laughed so damnn hard at that pic too

[unison999]

They are not taking credit, they simply filed the patent for the technology which wasn't patented

The only thing that they can enforce is the technology in an iDevice, so people can not make add-on on iDevice without Apple approval.
If it is on HTC or Samsung or whatever put it on their phone, Apple will try to enforce patent but they will lose simply because there is an existing technology already utilized before Apple's patent. Only people Apple can force out is small business that do not have the money to defend themselves, go bankrupt because of litigation.

[jOnGarrett]

They are not taking credit, they simply filed the patent for the technology which wasn't patented

right, for something someone else already invented.

[psp257]

Apple ALWAYS finds away to make everything look and operate better with everything the sell. (well, maybe not the iPod touch camera tho)

[Subtenko]

How could samsung not have patented their stuff with their pico phone when it came out before this? You all are telling me samsung doesnt patent their stuff? Well Im about to be richer in a few weeks....

[SwatPac]

I am going to start patenting all the crazy ideas I have in hopes that one day I can sue someone and become RICH. First idea, window with built in pico projector! Patents, here I come!

[unison999]

Apple ALWAYS finds away to make everything look and operate better with everything the sell. (well, maybe not the iPod touch camera tho)

I guess Apple dropped the ball on this one.

[LoringStudios]

This would be pretty rad, but I'm still waiting to see what apple does with the patent on the solar charging cells under the screen. Just imagine when you have a low battery that you could just throw it on the dashboard of your car.