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Apple’s been looking at Kinect-like 3D gestures for a while now, and now it’s filed for a new 3D GUI patent that would make using an iPhone or iPad a lot like a cross between a portable little Kinect and a window into a parallel world.
The patent lays out an interface that would use proximity sensors to let a user control a “camera view” that would shift around a 3D environment as the mobile device is rotated or moved. Imagine a viewfinder in the middle of a cube, with apps and videos on the walls. The interface itself would be controlled by gestures made above the screen. That seems a bit unwieldy, but being that it’s just a patent application, who knows if this ever sees the light of day. [Patently Apple]
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There’s an App in the app store already that does exactly this as a technical demo. it looks identical to the drawing there. It’s called i3d http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/i3d/id434844658?mt=8 it tracks the users head position to move the screen around to make it appear to be 3d space. It’s a cool little demo with 5 or 6 modes of operation if I remember correctly. I doubt this patent would be enforceable as it seems to me to be the essence of “prior art”.