Apple has been hard at work on augmented reality (AR) glasses for some time now, and their use is becoming increasingly futuristic. A new patent has been discovered, suggesting that the company is working on technology to turn any surface into a touchscreen.

Patently Apple discovered this patent. The patent is a "continuation in part" application (CIP), which essentially builds on the parent patent by adding supplemental details. In this case, the original patent for the thermal touch technology was filed by Metaio, which was acquired by Apple in 2015. In the video below, one can see how this technology uses information from infrared and regular cameras to create an AR touchscreen.

The video does a good job of explaining how it works, but basically, thermal touch detects the heat signature generated when touching a surface and uses it to turn any physical object into a touchscreen. An example in the video is the links to products superimposed on a magazine, where the user can flip through the pages and press the one that interests them; a user wearing Apple Glasses (if this technology is incorporated into Apple Glasses) can interact with digital content in "any environment"

The headset will reportedly have 15 cameras. Eight of them will be dedicated to AR functions, and six will be used for "innovative biometric identification." The last camera will be used for "environmental detection." If Apple pursues thermal touch capabilities, its mixed reality glasses could be one of the most advanced wearables we have seen to date.

Patent applications are never indicative of future products; neither are CIP applications. We know that this technology has been in development since at least 2014, so the possibility that Apple Glasses will be available in 2022 with thermal touch technology cannot be ruled out.