Apple TV, possibili futuri sviluppi.

Apple in a new patent filing reveals that it is conducting research on a 3D remote control system for its Apple TV set-top box that would mimic the functionality of the Nintendo Wii controller and also deliver some features akin to its multi-touch technology.
In the November 2006 filing, published for the first time this week, the Cupertino-based electronics maker notes that the three-dimensional remote control systems can detect an absolute location to which a remote control is pointing in first and second orthogonal axes (e.g., the x- and y-axes) and an absolute position of the remote control in a third orthogonal axis (e.g., the z-axis).

"[The] remote control system also can include optional console . Console can have controller that can perform some or all of the processing described for controller," the filing states in an obvious reference to Apple TV. "Console also can have one or more connectors to which accessories can be coupled. Accessories can include cables and/or, game cartridges, portable memory devices (e.g., memory cards, external hard drives, etc.), adapters for interfacing with another electronic device (e.g., computers, camcorders, cameras, media players, etc.), or combinations thereof."

It adds that, "the absolute x- and y-positions of [the] remote control can be used, for example, in video games to position a user's character or to otherwise track the movement of the remote control in a user's environment."
In addition, Apple notes, the remote control can also "zoom into and out of an image or a portion thereof based on the absolute position of the remote control in the third axis." Such functionality would appear to go hand in hand with the photo and video browser components of Apple TV, mimicking one aspect of its multi-touch present on the iPhone, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro.