Originally posted by Gimbal
I doubt it, mainly because it's not a DC-motor, secondly a ring motor would be a big thing for Pentax so they would probably advertise it more.
But I doubt it will ever be used, not in that form. It seems way to complicated (read expensive) compared to sonic motors.
Yeah, you're right that it probably hasn't been implemented, as a closer look at the description reveals that this is quite experimental, without any sort of firm design.
However, it should be noted that this patent is about the configuration of the stator/rotor, and not about the driving force behind the motor. It can fundamentally be driven by any number of types of motors, examples of which they state include ultrasonic and brushless DC. The example implementation they give is pretty explicitly a brushless DC motor (see page 8-9).