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Apple applies for head tracking patent, Johnny Chung Lee says 'you're welcome'
Pablo Picasso is quoted as saying, "good artists copy and great artists steal." Good thing the quoter was Steve Jobs then, because the latest Apple patent application to go public looks very much like something Johnny Chung Lee pieced together with a Wiimote way back in 2007. Filed for in June 2008, the new patent is for a system tracking the location of the user's head and responding to his movements in a fashion that should generate a realistic three-dimensional viewing experience sans those pesky glasses. We've got video of Johnny's setup after the break, and as he himself describes it, the idea behind a "desktop VR" is to unbound imagery from the screen surface and to make your monitor or TV act like a window unto whatever is being displayed. That means Apple will need a new branding scheme should this application turn into a real product -- iWindow just might be the least likely product name in the history of consumer electronics.
PlayStation Eye hacked for desktop VR use
The Wiimote may be spurring on the majority of desktop VR hackery these days, but at least one enterprising developer seems to be aiming to change that, and he's now showing that you can do more or less the same thing with a PlayStation Eye. As with the Wiimote, you need a pair of homemade IR-equipped glasses, but you'll also need to perform a couple of minor modifications to the PS Eye itself. That all-important detail consists simply of a homemade lens cap that houses some exposed and developed film, which lets the camera receive only the infrared signals from the glasses. Pair that with some custom-made software (now available for the taking), and you'll be giving unsuspecting visitors motion sickness in no time. Head on over after the break for a peek at the setup in action.
