According to the list published by the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO), Apple today obtained a patent on the Apple Pencil’s technology. According to the patent description, the Apple Pencil can interact and operate with devices such as mixed-reality headsets, iPads, and Mac monitors, and can act as a controller for VR games.
The main content of the patent is as follows: In Figures 1 and 6B below, we see a user holding an Apple Pencil, which in this case is used as a game controller to move objects or game characters, which Apple calls a “Virtual Agent “# 606. The Apple Pencil’s functionality will include inputs that involve tapping, scrolling, rotating, flicking, and swiping on the Pencil’s touch surface.
The Apple Pencil described in the patent has built-in sensors that detect input from the user based on haptics with touch-sensitive surfaces #175.
In some instances, the Apple Pencil may include multiple touch-sensing technologies, including but not limited to capacitive, resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well as other proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one or more points of contact.
In additional information in the patent, Apple details the use of eye/gaze tracking as a way to move objects in an extended reality (XR) environment or game.
