Apple has been granted a patent for “Surface Texture Detection And Emulation.” It involves using an Apple Pencil with the Vision Pro and the upcoming Apple smart glasses (“Apple Glasses”).
About the patent
The patent would allow the Apple Pencil to convey the texture of virtual objects through haptic feedback. In the patent Apple notes that extended reality (XR) systems such as mixed reality (MR) or augmented reality (AR) systems combine computer generated information (referred to as virtual content) with real world images or a real-world view to augment, or add content to, a user’s view of the world.
XR systems may be utilized to provide an interactive user experience for multiple applications, such as applications that add virtual content to a real-time view of the viewer’s environment, interacting with virtual training environments, gaming, remotely controlling drones or other mechanical systems, viewing digital media content, interacting with the Internet, or the like.
There are conventional devices that can collect and transmit information about surface roughness or texture. However, Apple says this is typically done with expensive optical or tactile sensor systems that aren’t capable of fitting into small form factor devices. What’s more, estimation of surfaces roughness is possible using conventional computer vision, aided by machine learning, but may not be accurate at the local scale of the surface, the tech giant adds.
Apple’s patent is designed to overcome such issues.
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A hand-held device that includes sensor components that enable the detection and measurement of surface features such as roughness or texture. Motion data (e.g., velocity and trajectory) may also be captured. The hand-held device may also include components for emulating surface features. The hand-held device may also recreate, cancel, or alter curves or roughness on virtual or real surfaces, and recreate or cancel curves or roughness on real surfaces. A hand-held device may include the sensor components, the emulation components, or both. The hand-held device may, for example, be used as an accessory in an extended reality (XR) system, or may be a standalone device.”
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