Apple Glass is one of the most enigmatic pieces of mixed reality technology coming to market, but with the discovery of a new patent, how that interface will work may no longer be a mystery.

The rumored AR glasses may be able to transform ordinary surfaces into navigational displays with control panels and touch toggles AppleInsider discovered this patent and that Apple filed a patent for this system in 2016. We noted that the USPTO just published it in its database this week.

The patent explains that "the natural way for humans to interact with [real] objects is by touching them with their hands."

"A [screen] that enables the detection and localization of touch on its surface is commonly known as a touchscreen and is a common part of, for example, smartphones and tablet computers today.

In other words, Apple may be trying to replicate the touchscreen experience of an iPhone or iPad on a surface such as a table or textbook with an infrared Cessna. There is no direct mention of a headset device in the patent, but it reads like a good fit for the Starboard operating system (or glassOS) experience.

In order to deploy this system, Apple Glass may need to support some gesture control.

Another solution for navigating real-world touchscreens could be tactile wearables such as rings or gloves. Apple has patented this type of device in the past.

For example, we have seen an extendable ring that acts as a controller for certain mobile devices. We previously speculated that Apple's Smart Ring might serve as an accessory for a future iPhone (though perhaps not the iPhone 12), but we could easily see it applied to the company's upcoming headgear.

We won't know the inner workings of Apple Glass until closer to the actual release date. One reliable analyst said Apple Glass could appear as early as next year, but another longtime source on Apple product releases believes the launch won't be until 2022; Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said 2023 at the earliest.

Packing advanced technology into a small, attractive frame is a complex problem that tech companies have yet to solve. Apple may be the first to bring to market high-performance smart glasses that people will actually want to wear, but it may be a long time before we start seeing them.