Apple has just enriched its catalog of innovations with promising technology. The American Patent Office has just granted the Californian giant the rights toun trackpadequipped with a special lighting system. This technology has been designed for the futureMacBook Proand could makemuch more intuitive our interactions with the machine.
Continue to innovate on an object as familiar as the trackpadis a very complex undertaking. These have been the subject of numerous improvements over the years, reaching a very high level of performance and reliability. Proposing innovations as radical as this is very complicated, the risk of compromising the user experience being quite high, but Apple dared. The patent in question is available for consultationon this page.
Apple makes its trackpad shine
The technical document therefore reveals a new kind of trackpad, integrating a matrix of pixels under its tactile surface. This technology allows the touchpad tolight up on demand, making buttons and controls appear and disappear as needed. The trackpad can even be split into two distinct areas.
Apple engineers have paid particular attention to the aesthetic aspect, one of Apple's fundamental credo. A layer of optical filters, called “louvers» (a term that could be translated as “micro-obturateurs"), cleverly solves an important technical challenge: preventing the pixel array from appearing as an unsightly black spot when turned off. This therefore allows the trackpad toblend perfectly into the sleek design of MacBooks, whether active or not.
Apple patent drawings. Fig. 1: Internal structure showing the pixel layer and the louver layer. Fig. 2: example of configurable illuminated touch controls. Fig. 3: General layout on a MacBook with dynamic touch areas. © Patently Apple
What concrete applications?
A shiny trackpad is all well and good, but what could we do with it? This innovation is not intended for simple aesthetics, but could bringreal features, useful on a daily basis. Imagine it adapting in real time to your work: in the middle of a photo editing session, adjustment controls appear under your fingertips. Switch to your word processor, and the touchpad transforms to display formatting and editing tools.
Apple has developed a sophisticated optical system that combines lenticular films and holographic components to further optimize the system's efficiency. This device guaranteesoptimal diffusion of light, making the controls clearly visible from all angles. Buttons, sliders and dials are embodied in clear and precise light patterns in the active areas of the trackpad.
At first glance, this patent might appear dispensable, but let's not forget that many technologies were consideredsuperfluous options when introduced. Built-in webcams, backlit keyboards, noise-reducing microphones. However, today they have become standards.Maybe this trackpad will meet the same fate.
- Apple has filed a patent for an innovative illuminated trackpad, integrating a matrix of pixels to display interactive and adaptive controls.
- With a neat aesthetic, optical filters allow it to integrate harmoniously into the MacBook chassis
- It can bring up tools or functions that appear as needed.
