14 DAY TRIAL // We've seen our share of odd devices, and the new one from Fujitsu definitely qualifies as such due to the shape alone, but it also happens to be one of the most useful inventions of the type.
Rings are usually little more than decorative accessories, some more unassuming than others. Conversely, some are so gaudy that you can tell they were deliberately made to look overly ostentatious.
Aesthetics-wise, the new item invented by Fujitsu qualifies as neither, because it's quite ugly. And not in a “that's way over the top” kind of way, but simple “that hurts my eyes” way.
Such is the price of building it with integrated technological capabilities, which we dare say is a more than fair trade-off.
Besides, this is an initial prototype, and future versions are bound to look better as technology evolves and becomes more and more miniaturized.
The Fujitsu ring allows you to write
The company thought about people who might be neck-deep in some activity or other, like researching a concept or writing an equation they can't afford to leave for later, for fear of losing a bright idea.
More importantly, it thought of those who might not have instant access to a PC and a keyboard, or even a handset with an on-screen keypad.
What the ring does is allow you to write messages with your fingertip. Just draw the characters in the air and the device will do the rest.
Motion sensors are the core of the solution, as they translate the movements in usable characters. We'd call it handwriting recognition, but that's not quite the same thing.
Normal implementations of handwriting recognition look at whatever squiggles you drew on a virtual sheet of paper (or whatever else) and guess what letters or figures you were trying to produce.
Instead, the Fujitsu ring does the translation for the movements of your index finger as they happen, then uses Bluetooth (Low Energy specification) to send the message to a computer, mobile device or whatever else. A sensor-processing microcontroller does the “reading.”
Fujitsu also included a small status display LED, an operation button (no sense in having the thing on all the time) and an NFC tag reader (lets you get instructions for interfacing with a device just by tapping it).
Availability and pricing
Fujitsu intends to start selling the still unnamed ring in the fiscal year 2015, which could mean within weeks or months. Real world tests need to be run first. Unfortunately, the price isn't known.
