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News
Apple Files Patent for Wand Controller for Apple TV
Thursday, March 12th, 2009 at 4:08 PM - by Bryan Chaffin
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The short version of the patent, which was filed in May of 2008, is that the user would use the wand to control a mouse cursor. The position of the mouse could either be determined by infrared modules positioned next to the screen, or by use of an accelerometer or gyroscope inside the wand itself.
The patent application also suggested that gesture-based movements could be used to replace the use of at least some button controllers.
From the description, "In some embodiments, the user may provide a selection input by moving wand in a particular manner. For example, the user may flick wand (e.g., move wand in circular pattern), rotate wand in a particular manner (e.g., perform a rotation of wand), move wand a particular distance off screen, or any other suitable movement of wand."
Even the position of the wand relative to the screen could be used: "To zoom out, the user may move wand away from screen such that the distance between wand and screen may be larger than the initial distance between wand and screen."
Whether or not the company brings a product based on this patent filing -- it has not yet been granted -- remains to be seen. The company files scores of new patents every year, and not all of them result in or are used in shipping products.
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