Ring enhances user experience of touchscreen devices

Tablet devices and smartphones have made the touchscreen a common sight in the hands of consumers. However, feeling that finger-controlled touchscreen navigation is yet to realize it’s full potential, we recently came across Ringbow. Ringbow is a device that hopes to streamline a number of functions performed when using touchscreen navigation. By using the ring in conjunction with a thumb, the device can reduce the need for on-screen menus, enabling users to control on-screen elements and their properties remotely without touching the screen. For example, brushing the ring with a thumb can perform a scroll function, and a double tap of the ring can perform a double click — whether the finger is in contact with the touch screen or not. By using multiple rings of different colors, a touchscreen device can also identify which finger is being used for navigation, and can be set to perform different tasks depending on which finger is being used to navigate or tap the screen. Equally, two different ring wearers could be identified as separate users on a single device. A video of a prototype ring being used on a painting application can be seen here. Ringbow claim that the ring could be used on devices such as tablets, touch-controlled PCs, mobile phones, smart home appliances, gaming consoles, cars, security systems, engineering workstations, and more. The website also mentions a desire to introduce SyncRing, which could use the Ringbow to “sync your digital life and create a personal ecosystem for each one, facilitating personal identification and data exchange.” As a report on CNET notes, however, an extra device may simply be too much hassle for many users of touchscreen appliances. It will take an outstanding user experience to convince consumers to invest in extra devices such as the Ringbow. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of innovations to come in this area! Spotted by: Dietfried Globocnik