How would you like to be able to share a file between an iPhone and an iPad simply by pouring it from one device to another? This is what Apple has in mind with a patent application, unearthed by Patently Apple.
One patent describes file sharing via “physics metaphors,” such as one device “sucking” files from another, or “pouring” them from one to another like water, with an accompanying sound effect.
This could be achieved by using the motion sensor present in the iPhone and a RFID or Bluetooth link between the two devices. To make the process more realistic, the patent describes the possibility of the interface reacting to various forces of physics, such as gravity, torque, acceleration, friction, etc.
This idea could be used for more than just sharing files. The patent application describes the possibility of creating unique graphical objects and “flicking” them to a nearby device. For example, a user could send a quick note or a doodle to a friend in class.
Another patent application describes the possibility of using new 3D gestures to create and manipulate 3D objects, with possible applications in CAD and gaming. It includes a detailed explanation of gestures that could be used to generate, modify, manipulate and even add color and texture to 3D objects on the screen of a tablet device.
You can find the patent applications, filed in the first quarter of 2010 at the behest of Apple by inventors Brett Bilbrey, Nicholas V. King and Todd Benjamin, here and here.
More About: apple, iOS, ipad, iphone, patent
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