Here is a wearable keyboard that uses passive inductive telemetry to let users type anywhere. This batteryless and wireless ring-shaped keyboard supports text entry by detecting finger typing on any surface.

As the researchers explain:

Each ring consists of a sensor coil (the ring part itself), 1-DoF piezoelectric accelerometer, and varactor diode; moreover, it has different resonant frequencies. Typing shocks slightly shift the resonant frequency, and these are detected by a wrist-mounted readout coil. 5-bit chord keyboard is realized by attaching five sensor rings on five fingers.

[HT] [Credit: Ryo Takahashi, Masaaki Fukumoto, Changyo Han, Takuya Sasatani, Yoshiaki Narusue, Yoshihiro Kawahara]

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Meet SmartSleeve: a textile sensor that senses gestures and deformations using a hybrid gesture detection pipeline. For instance, it can detect twirl, twist, fold, and other gestures. It has a modular architecture, so new gestures can be tried all the time. As the researchers explain:

hybrid gesture detection framework uses a learning-based algorithm and heuristics to greatly expand the possible interactions for flexible, pressure-sensitive textile sensors as its unified pipeline senses both 2D surface gestures and more complex 2.5D deformation gestures.

The above video shows what you can do with something like this.

The post SmartSleeve: Smart Textile Senses Gestures & Deformations appeared first on Cool Wearable.

Meet the REFLEKT 360: a drag & drop VR platform that lets you create interactive VR experiences with 360-degree videos and images. The drag & drop tool allows you to focus on content creation without any coding or programming. Users simply import their own video and photos and use virtual TouchPoints to make them interactive.

This platform supports mobile devices with iOS or Android and mobile VR headsets. More info is available here.

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Holographic wearables such has HoloLens are going to change the way we design things and interact with others at work. The below video shows how Microsoft HoloLens and Autodesk Fusion 360 combine to enable engineers and designers better collaborate on complex projects.

Those of you interested in developing apps for HoloLens may want to invest in a Microsoft HoloLens Development Kit.

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Apple doesn’t advertise the Apple Watch as being waterproof or rugged. But the device can last a little while when exposed to water. This video from DC Rainmaker shows an Apple Watch being tested in a waterproofing chamber to 40 meters.

As you can see in the above video, the Apple Watch can survive underwater for a while. Of course, Apple is not going to tell you that, so if something goes wrong, you are on your own.

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The Apple Watch may be one of the most popular smartwatches around, but it was not designed to be abused. You certainly don’t want to shoot your Apple Watch with a rifle. The good folks at FullMag have put together a video that shows how an Apple Watch fares after getting shot with a .50 Cal rifle:

As you can see in the above video, the watch got crushed in half. Most folks are still waiting to get their Apple Watch, so they won’t have a chance to try this anyway.

[Source]

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The Apple Watch may be a popular smartwatch, but it is not designed to be mistreated. You certainly shouldn’t drop your watch on its head. More importantly, you wouldn’t want to expose it to liquid nitrogen as this video from FullMag shows:

The watch in this video did not survive the test. In fact, it got completely crushed by the end of it. There is probably not a single smartwatch on the market that would survive this test though.

[Source]

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The bubbles will inflate every 20 minutes to force the user to stretch his/her back. You can find out more about how this vest was created on Ziyun Qi’s website.

The post RE-Inflatable Vest Reminds You Not to Slouch appeared first on Cool Wearable.

In the past few months, we have covered various Android Wear hacks. Running Windows 3.1 on Android Wear watches is up there. Corbin Davenport has put together a video that shows Windows 3.1 running on a Samsung Gear Live using aDOSBox:

The post Windows 3.1 on Android Wear appeared first on Cool Wearable.

Are modular wearable devices about to become a thing? The jury is still out on that. But Phonebloks is planning to make modular modules, which will enable smartwatch users to further customize their experience. Here is how they explained it:

Because wearables are not just devices, but are also fashion pieces. As a result, our modules, are now modular. Yep, modular modules! What does that mean? Well, each block now has removable covers, meaning the look of your device is now also customisable! And don’t forget, that also means we can set up an open design store.

The company will be focusing on the software side of things for now. They are targeting Android, iOS, and Windows phone. The team is growing, so the future is bright.

[Source]

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Many of us use our smartphones to find our way around. Staring at your smartphone while walking is not a good idea though. Docomo’s Yubi Navi is an innovative device that serves as your “finger navigator.” It is a silicon-covered stick that leads you in the right direction when connected to your smartphone. It tells you to turn left or right by a series of vibrations and contortions. When you reach a point to make a turn, the device vibrates and nudges your thumb to the right or left. No need to keep your on your smartphone when you have something like this. We are not sure how big a market there is for a such product though.

[via: The Japan Times]

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