Typing on a touch screen has become a common fixture of modern computing. While everyone is used to tapping on a solid flat surface, the tactile advantage of using a regular keyboard with mechanical keys is clearly missing on a software-based keyboard.
Unlike typing on a keyboard, the flat surface does not provide any gradual resistance to finger pressure. Apple believes that the sudden stopping of the finger in contact with the display surface may lead to “tingling and fatigue” of the finger, which makes it uncomfortable to type on a tablet or phone display for long periods of time.
A newly granted patent by Apple seeks to solve this problem by taking advantage of human anatomy. Named “System for modifying finger sensation during finger press input events,” Apple proposes to mitigate the effects of tapping on the display by increasing the cushioning effect provided by the user’s finger pads.
Wearing a device on each finger that is shaped to cover the nail and run down the left and right sides of the finger while leaving the fingertip behind, the system actually consists of actuators that change the shape of the device to make it narrower and wider in width. The goal is to gently squeeze the sides of the finger to deform it, pushing the finger pad further outward, which in turn softens the impact with the screen. In theory, this extra cushioning should make typing easier and provide some form of tactile feedback to the user while actively typing.
Instead of constantly squeezing the finger and making it uncomfortable to wear, the system only performs the squeezing action when it is close to the appropriate surface, i.e. the display of the device. In addition to preparing the user for impact, this sensation alerts them to the fact that they are about to touch an interactive surface.
Apple is regularly granted many patents, but while these patents do indicate areas of interest to the company, there is far from a guarantee that these ideas will appear in consumer devices in the future.
