Apple Inc has filed a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark office (USPTO) allowing a ring-shaped device to execute sliding finger gestures on virtual reality (VR) gloves and similar wearables.
The “skin-to-skin” patent could potentially facilitate gestures for wearables such as VR gloves, bracelets, necklaces, headphones, and head-mounted devices, Patently Apple said in a report on Thursday.
The wearables could execute functions such as moving cursors and pointers, scrolling, opening files, viewing menus, conducting telephone calls, logging on computers, launching programmes, and others.
Components in the electronic jewelry system patent included a ground electrode, drive electrode, and numerous sense electrodes, which would operate in configurations to wrap around the circumference of the device or in electrode patches, the report said.
The news comes after Apple filed several patents for its upcoming head-mounted display, which featured updates such as air conditioning, improved biometric detection, and mixed reality (MR) interface.
The Cupertino-based firm also requested materials for organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays, which it could potentially use to improve resolutions for its headsets.
The MR headset, which will require tethering to Apple iPhones and Mac computers, is expected to launch in late-2022 and comes after several small delays from initial projections.
