Apple R&D: AssistiveTouch, smart gloves and foldable screen

Apple has just unveiled several new features for people with disabilities, including some specially dedicated to the Apple Watchjust patented. They allow you to control the watch without using its touch screen, but via simple movements of the fingers of the hand adjacent to the wrist where it is installed. This video shows how the principle works:

This is made possible by several key components of the Apple Watch, such as the gyroscope, accelerometer, and heart rate sensor. These parts are in fact responsible for detecting the activity of the tendons and muscles, then analyzed by a process ofmachine learning(machine learning). To be entitled to it, however, you will have to wait for a next watchOS update which has not been communicated. But the upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference should be an opportunity to discover its eighth major version.

Apple Gloves

In a second patent, Cupertino describes a pair of connected gloves, which could for example communicate with an augmented reality device likeits supposed glasses under development. The duo would be able to detect the pressure and force exerted by the fingers, so as to identify the moment when the user grasps an object. Likewise, accessories are capable of controlling a virtual keyboard.

The stated objective is to allow players to continue to remain “alert” in real life, for example by always being able to pick up their phone, answer the doorbell or move an annoying piece of furniture around them. This is in fact not possible with the Touch controllers of Oculus headsets, which require you to release them to be able to interact with the real world.

Of course, we do not know whether this document actually reflects real commercialization ambitions. We must therefore keep in mind that it is entirely likely that its creators will abandon the idea, with it never seeing the light of day.

MacBook Pro & iPhone

Finally, Apple employeeshave also registered with the USPTO(American organization responsible for protecting the intellectual property of companies) images of a foldable screen never before seen by the brand. We recognize hinges that are flexible enough for the screen to be opened easily, but which can also be rigid enough to keep it positioned at a very precise angle. Obviously, the display is also tactile, which is reminiscent of thisconcept of Magic Keyboard quite similar.