Grunting a loud “Uuuuuuarrrrghhh” as you flick your wrist in the direction of your smartphone, too lazy or too comfortable to stand up and retrieve it is an experience we've all shared one way or another. Wouldn't life be slightly more fun if we could turn things on, compile and send text messages, and even pay for things by shear gesture alone? Well, a crafty little gesture-input, wearable, ring-shaped control device, ironically called Ring, will enthrall tech enthusiasts and “lazies” alike. And you can bet your ass there's a demand for this sort of thing ─ Ring blew past its $250,000 Kickstarter campaign goal in 5 days alone, sitting at $550,000 as this is being written.
Gesture control
So you might be asking yourself in a rural dialect, “what kinda fancy-shmancy things can that ring do?” And I will say plenty. It can control home appliances such as LED lamps, coffeemakers, microwaves, or anything connected to internet-of-things, by gesturing something mid-air. These midair gestures also translate to letters recognized as text, permitting users to spell out text messages by drawing in the air.
This same dynamic gesture recognition system can access apps on your smartphone or smartwatch. For example, drawing an envelope shape accesses your e-mail, drawing a music note accesses your player, and drawing a camera accesses the camera. One can even make payments using their Ring's Bluetooth capabilities by drawing the specific symbol.
Custom gestures
The best aspect by far, is the ability to program original gesture shaped commands via Ring's proprietary app. These commands can be edited at anything time via smartphone or tablet. Furthermore, an open API allows developers to create their own apps and share them on Ring's digital store. Two other development methods are available include using JavaScript via browser and a software development kit for Android and iPhone.
This type of freedom creates endless possibilities of meshing gesture control with the Internet-of-Things; there's no denying that the convenience aspect to this is most appealing. Can you count how the mornings you've stalked off to the bathroom and sighed after realizing you've forgotten to turn on the coffee maker? Wouldn't it add so much more zest to your life if you can activate that coffeemaker by impatiently swinging your hand toward the device, as if it was your butler or something?
Connecting to other devices
Devices' compatible with the Ring's software can be directly connected, otherwise hub pairing is required. Hub pairing uses a routing device which enables you to send infrared or Wi-Fi signals to any compatible device, and connect in this manner.
The cons
My biggest concern with purchasing the Ring is its battery. The battery, while rechargeable, cannot be replaced. It lasts for 1000 gesture between recharges, but the entire devices needs to be replaced when the battery eventually dies. This is a huge setback given the device sells between $100 and $150. Secondly, Ring is not waterproof, so forgetting to remove the device as one often does with a non-wedding band can destroy it. I suppose this is a small price to pay with such cool tech at your disposal.
For more info visit Ring's Kickstarter page
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