The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 63 granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover a patent titled "Finger Hover Detection for Improved Typing" on virtual keyboards. Apple officially acquired this patent back on July 27, 2016 from TypeSoft Technologies, Inc. The patent assignment abstract of title from USPTO is noted below. Today's granted patent covers virtual keyboard technology behind the app known as "Dryft" which our report covers with a video.







The overview of the invention states that "Typing on touchscreens is improved by dynamically and automatically positioning the desired home-row keys of an onscreen keyboard below the user's fingers while their fingers are hovering above the surface, thus reducing the need for the user to look at the onscreen keyboard while typing. The location of each of the user's fingers while hovering and/or resting is monitored. Correlation between the hover sensor data and touch sensor data increases the confidence level by which the system can determine which of the user's fingers were used to select a key. By determining which finger was used to make the selection, the system accurately disambiguates which letter the user intended to type."

Apple's patent FIG. 2A noted in our cover graphic is a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of a portable computer with a touch-screen display on which a keyboard system of the present invention is displayed; FIG. 2B is the same view showing touch points created by the user resting their fingers and hands on the touch surface.

The patent covers the commercial technology called Dryft as noted in the video below by inventor Randy Marsden who invented Swype and is now with Apple as noted further below.



Apple's granted patent 9,489,086 was originally filed in Q2 2014 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Although some of the engineers on the patent have left for different companies, Randy Marsden is now noted as being iOS Keyboard Manager at Apple. He came from TypeSoft Technologies also known as 'Dryft.'

Marsden is noted as founding or co-founding 5 companies, and have successfully commercialized over 12 different hardware and software products that include onscreen keyboards for Windows & Mac, Swype, a head-tracking camera, an aseptic keyboard called Cleankeys and DRYFT (natural typing for touch screens).

According to TechCrunch, Apple acquired Dryft back in 2015. Marsden was also a TED speaker in 2012 on the topic of "Engineering for social impact."

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