Apple Developing Finger Accessories to Make 3D Air Gestures

The US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) has today published a continuation patent from Apple related to the development of a slip-on finger sensor device for controlling content seen on the display of a VR headset, Patently Apple is reporting.

The original patent, which was granted to Apple in November 2020, detailed a finger-mounted device with optical sensors for gathering touch input from the upper surface of a user’s finger. 

Apple noted that the user may interact with the displayed visual content in the head-mounted display by supplying force input, air gestures, taps, shearing force input, and other input.

A finger device configured to be worn on a finger of a user, the finger having a finger pad, the finger device comprising: a body configured to be coupled to the finger, wherein the body has first and second side body portions that are movable relative to one another and that respectively extend down first and second opposing sides of the finger while leaving the finger pad exposed.

Apple’s original patent presented 33 patent claims, whereas today’s continuation patent adds 20 new patent claims protecting key features.