A new patent has been filed by Apple named “magnetic sensor based proximity sensing,” all rumors indicate that these gloves are for the company’s new AR/VR project called Apple Glass.
Apple has a new patent: Magnetic smart gloves
The new patent was launched by the company and granted on Tuesday by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Its name refers to gloves very similar to the conventional gloves we use to protect us from the cold but looks like these models will have magnetic fields capable of detecting the position and gesture of each finger individually.
Virtual reality helmets or glasses often use some kind of controller for the hands, but the company goes further, and instead of offering more gadgets with a single-use (virtual reality glasses), proposes an accessory in the form of a conventional glove that could be used for different functions.
The usual controllers for virtual reality glasses do not know precisely where the user’s fingers are and what position they are in, but Apple’s gloves will.
Apple Glass project might be on the way
Using magnetic sensing, Apple’s gloves will be able to measure and identify the position and location of magnetic sources. And to be able to do this task, these models will have magnetic sensors attached to each finger. This way, the system will accurately detect the position of the hand, fingers, gestures, etc.
The rest of the gloves would remain empty and could be used to connect other types of sensors, such as haptic response, touch sensors, temperature sensors, and so on. And it could even include batteries and a possible communication system with other virtual reality devices.
Apple patents numerous ideas every week, as do other brands in the industry. Patenting an idea does not mean that the company is going to go all the way, it just means that it is working on a project. We’ll be looking forward to this project.
