iBed, anyone? Apple has been granted a patent for a mattress with haptic output

The iBed? Apple has been granted a patent (number US 11896136 B2) for a “pneumatic haptic device having actuation cells for producing a haptic output over a bed mattress.” This is the third such patent filing by the tech giant regarding a mattress. 

About the patent

Apple probably isn’t planning to make and sell a bed. However, the tech giant wants an iPhone or Apple Watch to be able to interact with your bed. In the patent filing, Apple notes that electronic devices may have one or more input mechanism for sensing parameters of a user positioned on a bed or other support surface and output mechanisms that provide tactile outputs to a user of the device.

The tech giant adds that, in general, it may be beneficial for electronic devices to identify a position or posture of a user and/or provide tactile outputs to users while they’re in bed. Some traditional electronic devices may provide tactile feedback to users in bed, but the types of tactile feedback that can be provided are limited and devices can cause discomfort to users. 

Summary of the patent

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “An in-bed haptic device may include an array of actuation cells. Actuation cells of the array of actuation cells may be configured to actuate (e.g., expand, contract, or otherwise change shape) in a predetermined sequence to provide haptic outputs. 

“The in-bed haptic device may be configured to be placed beneath a user during use, for example between a user and a mattress. The haptic outputs may be provided to help a user relax, to move and/or wake a user, to indicate outputs, alerts, or notifications at the in-bed haptic device or another electronic device, or the like.”