Apple Patents Cover « Micro-gesture » XR Input, Head Haptics for Attention

In a patent application filed September 2020 and published this month, Apple covers the use of “micro-gestures” as a means of controlling XR devices. One version of this micro-gesture input envisions the user using their thumb, pressed against the side of their index finger, as a sort of virtual joystick for making directional selections.

The patent application shows several examples beyond the ‘virtual thumbstick’, including gestures which treat each segment of each finger as its own ‘button’ for input (ie: pressing your thumb to the middle section of your ring finger).