The ultra-wideband chips that Apple has been integrating into its devices for a few years allow integration into the Find My app. Thanks to these chips and the network of devices around the world, the possibility of finding a lost device is very high, especially if it is AirTags associated with something else. However, some accessories such as the apple pencil they do not have a built-in U chip. That’s why Apple has patented a system based on acoustic signals to find the nearby Apple Pencil, depending on the resonance frequencies of each object.
A patent based on acoustic signals to find an Apple Pencil
The Apple Pencil is quite a small accessory and the probability of losing it is very high. However, there are options to try not to lose it, such as sticking it to the magnetic side of the iPad or placing it in a suitable place if we are using a case. But if we lose it, there’s no way to find it Just like AirPods, AirTags or any other great Apple device because it doesn’t have the ultra-wideband U-chip.
Because of that Apple filed a new patent, notified by PatentlyApple, and has previously been published by the US Patent and Trademark Office as: “Peripheral device with acoustic resonator“. In fact, what is patented is the device itself and not the way to find it since it is based on the laws of physics.
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The patent makes it possible to find an Apple Pencil thanks to integrated acoustic resonators inside the pencil For example, a part of the lid for charging the accessory could leave a millimeter gap between the connector and the lid and create a small gap that generates a sound when it vibrates. Each object based on many parameters has a resonant frequency.
It is the same system that is used to break glasses with a certain acoustic wave (which coincides with its resonant frequency). This system is very rudimentary and not very technological since it would only allow the accessory to be found nearby and not if we have lost it in a place far from our position. But it’s one more breakthrough and patent that Apple could use at some point.
