Apple looks at multi-tiered haptics system for future iPhone

Yes, we do know that there has been plenty of buzz about Samsung’s pre-emptive strike (as seen by some) against the next generation iPhone in the announcement of the Galaxy S3 earlier today, but here we are with word that Apple might be considering a multi-tiered haptics system for their future iPhone (or other iOS-powered devices, it is really too hard to come to a conclusion at this point in time). There has been a documentation concerning a recent Apple patent that was published by the United States Trademark and Patent Office, revealing that the iPhone manufacturer is currently hard at work on a new intelligent multi-tiered haptics system.

Cupertino claims that the traditional tactile feedback systems are able to offer a user the ability to interact with a device via touch or contact, but with the multi-tiered haptics system, it might allow a future device’s touchscreen display to actually deform into a button, an arrow, or perhaps even a geological map with 3D depth (something that seems to jump right out from Stark Industries). It would also see one or more arrays of shape-changing elements in order to deliver the complete tactile interaction via an elastic screen interface.

Now, I would imagine the kind of programming involved across the board to get something like that going on a large scale, not to mention the amount of work the processor has to do, in addition to the battery power required to keep such a system going. It is going to take some time before a multi-tiered haptics system becomes an everyday reality, so we will just keep our fingers crossed. Image courtesy of PatentlyApple.

Ubergizmo