What They Say
The Patently Apple blog reported that Apple has got a patent for ‘thermal touch’ based on using data from infrared sensors. The technology is reported to be based on work done by Mataio, which Apple acquired in 2015. (AWE 2015 Buzzes on Metaio Sale)
What We Think
There’s a nice video from Metaio, before the acquisition that shows the concept, which allows any surface to be used for touch interaction. It’s a cool concept and given that Apple has had this technology for six years, we can assume it has moved on from where it was. The effect of heat would, presumably, be somewhat dependent on the thermal properties of the material being touched. That would sound ideal for the application of AI to optimise the performance based on recognition of the type of material. (BR)
