When Meta introduced their Orion smartglasses Project at their developer conference  in late September, they introduced an accessory that is meant to Advance input and control.

Meta noted that "We've combined the best and most natural inputs — voice, eye tracking, hand tracking — and added revolutionary electromyography (EMG) technology in a comfortably worn wristband for subtle, socially acceptable input, enabling use in low light or in public environments without requiring your hands in view of sensors."

Today the U.S. Patent Office published a patent application from Apple that they've been working on since 2021, the very same time frame that Meta filed for their wristband patent.

Apple's patent just happens to cover Smart-Bands that could detect Hand Gestures and Electromyography (EMG) via Embedded Electrodes.

Apple's invention covers electrodes that can be formed in different variations including a straight band or as part of an Apple Watch band, or integrated into a VR glove. All variations could detect hand gestures and electromyography (EMG) via embedding multiple rows of electrodes configured to detect activity of muscles and tendons.

The watch band could include removable electrical connections (e.g., pogo pins) to enable the electrode signals to be routed to processing circuitry in the housing of the Apple Watch, a fitness band, a VR glove.

Measurements between signals from the active electrodes and one or more reference electrodes could be obtained to capture EMG signals at a number of locations on the band. The measurement method and mode of operation (lower power coarse detection or higher power fine detection) could determine the location and number of electrodes to be measured. These EMG signals could be processed to identify hand movements and recognize gestures associated with those hand movements.

Apple's patent FIG. 1 below illustrates various hand movements that can be performed as part of a hand gesture; FIGS. 3A-D illustrate example devices in which electrodes can be formed in a flexible band to detect hand movements and gestures (similar to last week's devices); FIG. 5A illustrates an example flexible strap or band which has been separated from its housing (Apple Watch +); FIG. 5B illustrates a portion of a strap or band and the routing of electrodes to a connector.

Apple Inventors

• Kaan Dogrusoz: ML & Sensing R&D Manager
• Ali Moin: AI Research
• Benjamin Grena: Hardware Design Engineer
• Erdrin Azemi: Senior Engineering Manager, AI/ML Research
• Joseph Cheng: Platform Architect
• Daniel Podhajny: Product Designer (Worked on Nike's Flyknit Technology)

Apple filed a second patent on this project in 2023. We covered it in a separate report titled "Apple patent reveals smart-bands with embedded micro-machined ultrasonic transducers to detect touch, biometrics, hand-gestures+, " that you could review here.

Will Meta and Apple eventually be on a collision course regarding their competing patents for the same technology? Only time will tell.