Apple Glasses (not pictured) are expected to be revealed in 2021 or 2022. Unsplash
Apple Glasses (not pictured) are expected to be revealed in 2021 or 2022. Unsplash
Apple Glasses (not pictured) are expected to be revealed in 2021 or 2022. Unsplash
Apple Glasses (not pictured) are expected to be revealed in 2021 or 2022. Unsplash

How Apple Glasses plan to make any surface a virtual touchscreen


Razmig Bedirian
  • English
  • Arabic

We may soon be able to compose text messages by tapping on our coffee tables, play Candy Crush on our walls and stomp our feet against the floor to delete spam emails.

Well, give it a year or two.

It’s no secret that Apple is working on an augmented and virtual reality (AR / VR) headset – the Apple Glasses name has been circulating for a few years now – but it's always been unclear what kind of functionality this gadget will have.

Previous rumours have suggested the glasses will be nothing more than an iPhone accessory that lets the wearer view their phone's screen through their lenses. Others have suggested it will be a powerful wearable product that will enhance the way we interact with technology. (Although the same was said about Google Glasses, and those went belly-up last year.)

However, Apple Insider recently uncovered a 2016 patent application by Apple that may hold some clues as to what the tech giant is planning.

The patent tackles the question of how an Apple Glasses user will be able to interact with the environment in front of them.

If you use an iPad or iPhone, you’ll know that you only have to tap on the screen to trigger a desired feature. But how would that work with an AR headset?

Similar gadgets have typically coupled headsets with gloves or finger sensors to allow users to virtually interact with the landscape they see in front of them. But, let’s be real, do you really want to don a cyberpunk glove every time you put on a pair of AR glasses?

It turns out that Apple may have figured out a more elegant alternative, anyway: infrared heat-sensing technology.

"If two objects at different temperatures touch," says Apple's patent application, "the area where they touch will change their temperature and then slowly converge back to the initial temperature as before the touch.

"Therefore, for pixels corresponding to a point in the environment where a touch recently occurred," it continues, "there reveals a slow but clearly measurable decrease or increase in temperature."

In layman's terms, the glasses will allow you to see a virtual landscape in the real world, for example, your email inbox projected on the table in front of you. But, rather than having to take off the glasses to physically use them as a touch screen, you'll be able to use your finger on the table's surface like a trackpad.

The glasses, using the infrared heat-sensing technology, can detect what you're touching by tracing your finger's temperature and how it corresponds to the surface temperature. It will then be able to react as if you have just tapped a button, even though there's nothing actually in front of you.

It also means only you would be able to see the virtual touchscreen through the glasses. The table, per se, would look blank to a bystander, enhancing the user's privacy.

It is worth noting, however, that this feature has not been confirmed. While the patent proves Apple was investigating the issue four years ago, it remains to be seen whether the company will incorporate the technology into the final version of their eagerly awaited headset. After all, not all patents end up becoming real-world products or features.

We’ll just have to wait to find out.

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Transmission: 8-speed auto

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Need to know

The flights: Flydubai flies from Dubai to Kilimanjaro airport via Dar es Salaam from Dh1,619 return including taxes. The trip takes 8 hours. 

The trek: Make sure that whatever tour company you select to climb Kilimanjaro, that it is a reputable one. The way to climb successfully would be with experienced guides and porters, from a company committed to quality, safety and an ethical approach to the mountain and its staff. Sonia Nazareth booked a VIP package through Safari Africa. The tour works out to $4,775 (Dh17,538) per person, based on a 4-person booking scheme, for 9 nights on the mountain (including one night before and after the trek at Arusha). The price includes all meals, a head guide, an assistant guide for every 2 trekkers, porters to carry the luggage, a cook and kitchen staff, a dining and mess tent, a sleeping tent set up for 2 persons, a chemical toilet and park entrance fees. The tiny ration of heated water provided for our bath in our makeshift private bathroom stall was the greatest luxury. A standard package, also based on a 4-person booking, works out to $3,050 (Dh11,202) per person.

When to go: You can climb Kili at any time of year, but the best months to ascend  are  January-February and September-October.  Also good are July and August, if you’re tolerant of the colder weather that winter brings.

Do not underestimate the importance of kit. Even if you’re travelling at a relatively pleasant time, be geared up for the cold and the rain.

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Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')

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Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

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Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm

Everton v Watford, 8.30pm

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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal

Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.

School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.

“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.  

“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”

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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

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 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

 Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP

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Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

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 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WHAT ARE NFTs?

     

 

    

 

   

 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.

 

An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

 

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

 
Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
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Match info

Deccan Gladiators 87-8

Asif Khan 25, Dwayne Bravo 2-16

Maratha Arabians 89-2

Chadwick Walton 51 not out

Arabians won the final by eight wickets

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