Apple has just filed a patent for the concept of a tactile fabric. It could be declined in many forms: clothing, bags, protective covers, etc. to create a very varied range of smart objects.
Now that almost all objects are connected, you have to rack your brains to find one that does not yet have a “smart” version. Clothes maybe? It’s true that after the tactile jacket from Google and Levi’s, we haven’t seen much in this area. The Mountain View firm returned in 2020 with hood cords that control a smartphone or computer, however. For his part, Apple seems to want to explore the idea with a tactile fabric.
In a patent just filed with the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office), the apple brand explains its concept of “Fabric Sensing Device”, which could be translated as “textile detection device”. It involves integrating into a fabric a touch control system for our connected devices. A way to overcome current limits according to the company: “[…] many devices […] and traditional touch sensors are made of rigid materials and/or a rigid substrate sheet, and therefore may be limited to certain shapes”.
Apple files a patent for a tactile fabric that could be used to make many objects
The only scenario illustration available on the patent shows a person touching the sleeve of their sweatshirt/sweater. We assume that she gives an instruction to the smartphone that appears in her pocket or to the laptop next to her. But Apple’s idea goes much further. “The devices and techniques described herein may be applied to a variety of textile materials that may be incorporated into consumer electronics, clothing, clothing accessories, handbags, upholstered items, household textiles, and other articles which may include a textile component or element”.
We can therefore imagine an intelligent and tactile variation of any fabric-based object. The armrest of the sofa which allows you to turn up the sound on your TV or launch a streaming service, a laptop sleeve that shows the remaining battery percentage…The possibilities are numerous. However, we know that between the filing of a patent and the arrival of the concept on the market, there is a very big step which is sometimes never even taken.