Apple looking into ‘finger devices’ for controlling Macs, Apple Glasses, etc.

Apple has been granted a patent (number 20200174583) for “computer systems with finger devices for sampling objects attributes.” It involves using finger devices (not gloves) to control Macs, iPads, and perhaps the rumored “Apple Glasses.”

Electronic devices such as computers can be controlled using computer mice and other input accessories. In computer-generated reality systems, force-feedback gloves can be used to control virtual objects. Cellular telephones may have touch screen displays and vibrators that are used to create haptic feedback in response to touch input. 

However, Apple says that devices such as these “may not be convenient for a user, may be cumbersome or uncomfortable, or may provide unrealistic output.” The tech giant’s solution: finger devices can be worn on any or all of a user’s fingers (e.g., the index finger, the index finger and thumb, three of a user’s fingers on one of the user’s hands, some or all fingers on both hands, etc.). I’m not sure how such devices would be less cumbersome than a glove, but, hey, what do I know?

Here’s the summary of the invention: “A system may include electronic devices. The electronic devices may include finger devices configured to be worn on fingers of users and may include other electronic devices. The electronic devices may include sensors. A sensor may measure information on real-world-object physical attributes such as surface contours and textures associated with real-world objects. The measured physical attributes may be used to recreate a sampled physical object for a user in a computer-generated reality environment. 

“During presentation of computer-generated content, visual content, audio content, haptic content, and/or other content may be presented that is based on measured visual, audio, haptic, and/or other physical attributes of a real-world object. Content may be presented using a head-mounted device, haptic devices and other output devices in finger devices, and/or other output devices.”