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Apple Researching Multi-Touch Skins and New Gestures

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Apple's patent applications sometimes enter into bizarre and conceptual territory. This week's patent application reveals research into portable multi-touch skins that can be placed on three dimensional objects:
The one or more multi-touch skins enable multi-touch inputs during the operation of the object. The multi-touch inputs can be tracked to monitor the operation of the object and provide feedback to the operator of the object. The one or more multi-touch skins can further enable gestures for configuring and operating the object. The one or more multi-touch skins can also be used to implement any number of GUI interface objects and actions. A multi-touch skin that measures the force of a touch in one or more directions is also provided.
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The Multi-Touch skins could be used on sporting equipment such as a tennis racket, golf club or hockey stick. They could also be applied to steering wheels:
Multi-touch skins 410 and 420 can also be used together to configure the operation of the vehicle (e.g., its steering wheel) and another skin. For example, the tapping of two fingers on multi-touch skin 410 can be used to change the mode for multi-touch skin 420 from volume selection for the radio to wiper speed selection. The tapping of an index finger on multi-touch skin 420 would then correspond to a step increase in wiper speed while the tapping of a pinky finer would then correspond to a step decrease in wiper speed.
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Perhaps more practical is a set of new multi-touch gestures described by Wayne Westerman formerly of Fingerworks. Westerman describes the detection of a pinch/rotate/drag motion that could be used on a multi-touch surface.

- For example, a user can pinch the GUI object to grab it while dragging it to a desired location by translating the pinching fingers along the sensor panel surface to a desired drop location.
- Because a combined finger pinch/translation/liftoff gesture is a "dramatic" gesture, it can be used to throw a GUI object in the trash or to another desktop or window, minimize a window (pinch to minimize while translating to send the minimized window down to a corner), or send a file to a printer (pinch to select while translating to a printer icon), and the like.
- Another embodiment can be a pinch and pick up gesture, wherein proximity sensors detect the direction of the hand after pickup. A screen may then be activated in that direction (either highlighted or opened).



Article Link: Apple Researching Multi-Touch Skins and New Gestures
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2008/12/18/apple-researching-multi-touch-skins-and-new-gestures/
Sounds a long way off. It will be interesting to see what happens with multi-touch over the next few years. I reckon Apple have some big plans.
 
In business there's a good rule of thumb/Lesson and it's one Apple learned long ago the hard way. If you have a unique idea/concept... patent it, or at least apply for it.

You never know when someone might come along with something similar or identical and you wish you did own the patent for it.
 
This actually is a very brilliant and very *practical* idea right now.

Imagine the next MightyMouse with a multitouch surface on the front end, so you can use your thumb & fingers to do things like pinch (thumb & first finger) or scroll/swipe (two fingers, three fingers, or four fingers, in any direction).

This would 1) bring the new functionality of the trackpad to the desktop (which Apple would like), and 2) blow away any other mouse!, and 3) bring more people to Macs, as this would only work on OS X!

Seriously, I bet we see something like this sooner than we think.
 
If the skins could be made flexible, it could open up a whole new realm of possibilities. Devices that accept touch input could change their shape based on the input, to allow for tactile feedback. I'm thinking of mostly keyboards that could reconfigure themselves. But in the steering wheel example, there could be a gesture that triggers volume control, and then a little nub pops up to indicate where the volume is set to. As you drag your finger, the nub moves along with it. That sort of thing.
 
tosui said:
This actually is a very brilliant and very *practical* idea right now.

Imagine the next MightyMouse with a multitouch surface on the front end, so you can use your thumb & fingers to do things like pinch (thumb & first finger) or scroll/swipe (two fingers, three fingers, or four fingers, in any direction).

This would 1) bring the new functionality of the trackpad to the desktop (which Apple would like), and 2) blow away any other mouse!, and 3) bring more people to Macs, as this would only work on OS X!

Seriously, I bet we see something like this sooner than we think.
Click to expand...

I bet you're right about using the technology in a mouse. Though I wouldn't venture to predict how long it would take them to actually get the technology into a product.
 
i could see a golf club incorporating a skycaddy type of device into it, but on a hockey stick...why would a hockey player need multi-touch on his/hers stick 😕
 
hok said:
Multi touch dildo
Click to expand...

LMAO! I think everyone is thinking a little too literally. Hockey players wouldn't need a multi-touch surface on a stick, but GAMERS playing a hockey game might want to actually use a hockey stick rather than a controller...

It would make sense that Apple would delve into the Wii-style game console arena as they have with the iPhone/iPod touch games. This would take it to the next level.

"Guitar Hero Kids" might actually have to learn how to play the guitar <gasp>!😱
 
Looks cool and promising but i wouldn't even dare ti guess what Apple has in mind patenting that...I can see that happening on the mighty mouse but that's as far as i go 😛
 
anubis72 said:
LMAO! I think everyone is thinking a little too literally. Hockey players wouldn't need a multi-touch surface on a stick, but GAMERS playing a hockey game might want to actually use a hockey stick rather than a controller...

It would make sense that Apple would delve into the Wii-style game console arena as they have with the iPhone/iPod touch games. This would take it to the next level.

"Guitar Hero Kids" might actually have to learn how to play the guitar <gasp>!😱
Click to expand...

i was thinking the exact thing. the uses are endless.
 
Hannon for computers

And to think my daughter doesn't think there's any application for the piano practice.
 
a truly MIGHTY mouse

Hopefully this technology will make it's way in to the mighty mouse. the current "track Ball" is sub par. A MT skin over the contoured shape of the new mouse could prove very useful, more functions, more accurate, and even more "funnest" (tm apple 2008). An all glass mouse maybe? or atl east one that has a scroll that is reliable.

the future is now, will there be mice in it? you decide.
 
idiosyncratic i said:
I bet you're right about using the technology in a mouse. Though I wouldn't venture to predict how long it would take them to actually get the technology into a product.
Click to expand...

The new Apple pro keyboard. A touch surface that has specific configurations for the app you're using.
 
It's a shame in a way this stuff gets out (I know it has to). Microsoft's R&D department must spend a lot of time trying to find alternative ways to develop anything Apple dreams up.
 
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