Regardless of how you look at it, companies are adopting 3D technology faster than consumers probably ever will. Sony has been pretty big on the whole 3D thing and now Apple is next in line as the company has been awarded a U.S. patent for a 3D display system. The display will allow multiple viewers to experience high-quality 3D without the need for goofy glasses.

The patent explains the display will use a reflective screen with rippled texture that can project different images to each eye. The system tracks the viewer's eye, calculates its position, and projects each stereoscopic image to a spot on the screens ripples, which then reflects it onto the viewers eyes. For multiple viewers it can project multiple images to different points on the rippled screen. How the hell this works is beyond my expertise, but it sounds pretty neat.

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This isn't the first case of glasses-free 3D, however, as Nintendo's upcoming 3DS and a Toshiba TV coming out later this year provides a similar effect. Whether or not Apple will go through with turning the patent into product is unknown, but considering the company's drive toward innovation, I wouldn't be surprised. Let's just hope that this patent doesn't end up with Apple suing Toshiba and/or Nintendo and stopping us from getting the technology we crave.