Apple Filed A Patent For An Interactive Hologram That Could Reimagine 'Pinch And Zoom'

USPTO

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office just published another patent from Apple that revolves around an interactive 3D display system, or a hologram. Apple filed for the patent in Oct. 2012, and according to Apple Insider, it combines a number of "known display techniques" to create this version of a hologram.

The idea is that you would be able to interact with projected images that are just hanging out mid-air. You could control and manipulate the images with swipes and other gestures. Imagine pinching and zooming a hologram.

Apple's method of projecting this hologram includes a display system, an optical system, and a sensor assembly. It involves infrared lasers and a non-linear crystal. Which is all to say that digital interactive images will be created.

Keep in mind this is just a patent filing. Apple files lots of patents all the time, even if the inventions described never come to reality. Still, it's interesting to take a look at them to get an idea of the stuff Apple dreams up.