A “ring of Apple” may be in the list of devices that Cupertino company may launch in the near future. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), The Apple has been granted a patent for an “automatic mixing interferometry-based system for gesture input including a wearable or portable device.”
Getting the “techie” out of the way: a variety of devices, including “a finger ring.” The pictures positioned in the documentation also show a ring, among other applications.
An alleged “Ring of Apple” supported by a Apple Pencil, for use in conjunction with a new patent filed by the company (Image: USPTO)
Self-Mixing Interferometry (SMI) is a type of echolocation system that uses lasers. It basically emits one or more lasers that are reflected off the first object they encounter, so that they return to the original emitter for various possibilities, such as projecting digital images and information about surrounding objects onto a device equipped with a specific type of SMI sensor.
Ring would be an accessory for other devices Apple
A license da Apple talks about exactly that: an SMI sensor that will be able to “extract information about the relationship between the [ring] chassis and a secondary surface”. In the images, the “secondary surface” is a Apple Pencil, then it is safe to assume that the so-called “Ring of Apple” would work in direct connection with other company devices – such as the iPhone or iPad – as well as other rings of the type.
If only one ring were in use, the device would be able to identify the user's hand movements through the axis itself. Two rings would generate more detailed images on a two-dimensional plane; three rings used together would yield more gains, and so on.
Two “rings of the Apple” being used together for 3D mapping: application can allow input of commands with fingers in the air (Image: USPTO)
It’s a complicated description to say only that, equipped with one or more rings, you could do things like write or draw in the air, having a device connected to them recognize what you projected with your fingers. Further, the patent description talks about “haptic feedback” — the technology that makes your iPhone shake depending on the action you take with it.
Like any patent, nothing is guaranteed.
Like everything that involves any patent da Apple, this may be nothing. It is quite common for companies to register patents and trademarks just to ensure their ownership over a certain technology concept, but it does not necessarily mean that a product will come out of it (in most cases, this only serves to result in some very annoying lawsuits).
In 2019 the Apple even created a patent for a ring that would allow him to control iPhones without taking them out of his pocket, containing a mini display to perform the smartphone's primary functions. It is not clear whether the new patent and the old one are in any way related and Apple, in the best way Apple to be, did not comment on the information.
See also:
Samsung's patented ring could charge a cell phone's battery
Image: ProjectB (iStock)
