Apple Patent a Two Hand Multi-Touch System

Apple has just this week filed a new patent that shows a multi-touch system that can detect input from two hands. Not only does it detect fingers touching the screen, it actually can detect your palms and other parts of your hand that will make contact with the surface. The system will allow the user to interact with the device on a new level for typing, gestures, pointing, resting, 3D manipulation with all that information being captured and processed in an “ergonomic computer input device”.

This patent further assists the rumours that have been around recently about an Apple Tablet and could answer the rumours a little more by indicating that Apple will go for a larger screen rather then a small screen.

“Many attempts have been made to embed pointing devices in a keyboard so the hands do not have to leave typing position to access the pointing device… The limited movement range and resolution of these devices, leads to poorer pointing speed and accuracy than a mouse, and they add mechanical complexity to keyboard construction,” the application reads. “Thus there exists a need in the art for pointing methods with higher resolution, larger movement range, and more degrees of freedom yet which are easily accessible from typing hand positions.”

The system’s screen, large enough to accommodate two hands, will give the user far more capabilities to interact with the tablet device. As all 10 fingers and palms will be detected it will give the user the ability to use various mouse functions by a tap on the screen for example. Another unique feature of this system is that if a user taps 2 fingers then this will call a different function. Other functions could be called by a user lifting a finger from the screen. Apple refer to two fingers being used as “chords” which are explained in a diagram below.

The patent is quite complicated and lengthy although it seems that Apple will be making it more intuitive and natural which for the end user will be what matters most. At this point we can only assume that the patent is being designed for an Apple Tablet style device and as of now, it only adds to the already known rumours of a tablet appearing sometime in 2010.

Via: AppleInsider