In an apparent bid to keep its new research project a secret, US tech giant Apple has filed multiple patents suggesting it may be working on a drone although the rumors were that it is developing several technologies outside of smartphones and tablets, like VR headset and a car.
Patents that Apple initially filed in Singapore describe a method of connecting small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to various wireless controllers or drones operated via an iPhone or even a gaming consoles like Nintendo DS since the images in the patents depict small drone with four rotors, a common designed for small UAVs.
Besides that, the patent titled ‘Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Tracking and Control’ points to a system for tracking and/or controlling UAVs in a cellular network and appears to be describing a way to have a drone “handed from one controller to another,” potentially mid-flight.
Apparently the UAVs would have a type of memory and processing element that would allow it to recall previous tasks.
According to 9to5Mac, Apple has filed three patent applications in the last year for a drone, though only two came to light in the last few days.
Although the patents were first filed in Singapore in 2020, they finally made their way to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which published two Apple’s patent applications on Thursday.
The filings might mean that Apple wants to make iPhone-operated drones but the company regularly files patents for ideas which not always come to fruition.
Yet, given that photography and videography are already key focus areas for iPhones and Macs, this product category would seem a fairly logical for Apple to at least explore.
Over the past year, the tech giant has filed several patent applications related to drone technology including one titled ‘EU Modem for Drones with Flight Path and 3D Wireless Environment Signal Quality Information.’
However, another newly-granted patent that Apple was awarded in May partly confirms the initial rumors, describes technology for the iPhone that could display 3D images on the smartphone without the need of a VR and augmented reality headset.
The patent called ‘Split-screen driving of electronic device displays,’ proposes displacing 3D images on a flat screen of an iPhone or iPad.
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