Patently Apple

Apple Working on Hot 3D Eye-Tracking Interface for Gaming & iPhone!

On February 10, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a hot 3D eye-tracking based interface that will be used for gaming, digital photography and videography, biometrics and surveillance applications while being an OS feature option for iOS devices and Apple's iMac. The technology may work in conjunction with Apple's previous work on 3D which touched on head tracking and unique ambient light feature technologies. Apple wowed us earlier this year with a patent which demonstrated that they're paving the way for a new 3D GUI. Today's patent adds fuel to that fire. Apple's 3D GUI patent trend is really picking up momentum and you have to wonder when they'll release this beast into the wild!  

Apple Envisions Face & Presence Detection Security for iOS Devices

On December 29, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals one of the next chapters for device security. In 2009, Apple's presence detection patent first came to light in relation to future MacBooks. Then in November of this year, Apple revealed a heavy duty 3D face and object recognition system that could be used for home and enterprise security applications. In today's revelations, Apple introduces us to a more down to earth and practical security system for our portable devices. For simple home or personal use, the system could be setup to recognize your presence and face to quickly turn on your device. This would bypass the need for entering a password or even having to touch the home button to get to your homepage. For use at work, the facial recognition system could be set to higher levels of security. All in all it sounds like a very promising security system is in our future.  

Apple Wins Secret Patent for High-End 3D Object Recognition

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today and one of them was a real surprise. Apple has been granted a major patent for 3D object recognition that will allow future iPads to advance graphics like MRI images for use in hospitals and other enterprise and military applications covering high-end security systems using advanced biometrics. Apple secretely acquired this patent at some point in the past from Swedish inventors. When the connections to this patent unfold, you'll be both surprised and excited about what this means for future iOS devices.  

Apple Reveals Facial Recognition/Signature & Encryption Systems

On October 13, 2011, the US Patent & Trademark Office published two patent applications from Apple that reveal that they're working on a new facial recognition/Signature system in addition to a new encryption system for a future implementation of iOS. Apple's new iPhone 4S offers new face detection capabilities but the next step appears to go one step further with tagging the photos for applications like your address book and so forth. In the case of Apple's newly proposed encryption, it's definitely a must have feature if Apple wishes to push further into the Fortune 500 and beyond.  

Apple Patents iPhoto Face Recognition for iOS + Tripod for iPod

 
Apple improved facial recognition in iLife 2011's iPhoto while adding new slideshow features and themes. It now appears that Apple is already working on the next round of improvements by adding more advanced facial recognition features to iPhoto for home slideshows or work presentations. Interestingly, the patent shows us that this iPhoto feature is designed to work on iOS devices. Another Apple patent published today discusses a new handheld device latch that will make it easier to access batteries. Apple is mum as to which handheld device the latch is for. And lastly, there's news of a third party developer working on a tripod for iPod and other iOS devices that could help us take steadier videos and photos. That was only a matter of time, though it probably won't be ready in time for this summer.