A new Apple patent application submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office outlines an intelligent new stylus that could help us feel onscreen textures on devices like the iPad. The stylus employs haptic technology, and could connect to devices by Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Apple’s application is entitled, “Touch implement with haptic feedback for simulating surface texture,” and it describes a stylus that has the ability to detect onscreen textures and then simulate them using haptic vibrations.
The stylus could employ contact sensors, capacitive sensors, pressure sensors, and cameras to determine when it touches a target surface — such as your iPad’s touchscreen — while photodiodes might be used to determine textures like wood, paper, glass, cotton, silk, and more.
Texture information could also be transferred to the stylus over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
“Once a texture is ascertained, the touch implement activates a haptic feedback mechanism to relay vibrations, auditory cues or other signals to the user,” AppleInsider explains. “Feedback profiles vary depending on texture, meaning rougher depicted textures trigger more dramatic vibrations, while surfaces like glass invoke little to no feedback.”
Not only can the stylus detect textures and simulate them, but it could also establish how much pressure the user is asserting on the device and adjust its feedback accordingly. So if you were writing on paper, it would feel slightly more course if you were to press down harder on the stylus.
In a similar patent application, Apple describes a stylus that does the opposite to the above; using a camera embedded in its tip, the device can detect textured surfaces and then reproduce them on a computer in 3D renders.
For instance, you could run the device over wood or a metal coin to reproduce its texture on an iPad.
Recent rumors have claimed that Apple’s upcoming iPad Pro will come bundled with a stylus, which will be pressure sensitive for writing, sketching, and using graphics applications.
But as is always the case with Apple patent applications, there’s no guarantee any of the inventions described will make their way into future Apple products. They are proof, however, that Apple is at least exploring intelligent styluses.
No comments:
Post a Comment