The concept of head-tracking, in which the location of a user is tracked and a 3D display is updated according to their position, has been around for some time, but now, thanks to a recent patent filing by no less than Apple, may be farther along the line than ever before.

Basically, and this is some really deep technology, what we’re looking at is the use of cameras to produce a new kind of virtual reality in which the real world is meshed cleanly with a virtual world.

This kind of technology could revolutionize computer displays, give us a deeper layer of realism to GPS displays and suchlike, and turn computer games into a whole new and frighteningly immersive prospect.  In fact, a Carnegie Mellon student used a similar concept to make a wholly head-mounted controller for the Nintendo Wii two years ago, so this concept could not only be used as a display but also as a control.

It’s an interesting idea, and it gets nowhere without cameras.

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