Interactive ring that helps you game

Ringbow founders Saar Shai and Efrat Barit, have created a gaming accessory designed to be used with touch-based interfaces. They're currently raising money on Kickstarter and are getting closer to their goal. The ring itself has a nice consumer-focused design. I just wish it was a little smaller and more discreet. Even so, it's a nice first product and I'll be backing them!

"Since touch screens are controlled with fingers, a finger-worn tool, specifically a ring, is the natural choice for complementing them. Operating Ringbow while using a touch device enables layers of functionality, countless new features and a much more efficient user experience.

The Ringbow gaming accessory offers a D-pad style button with 9 control-directions. It communicates via Bluetooth, lasts 4-6 hours per charge and weighs less than 200g.

You wear it on your index finger and operate the button with your thumb while at the same time using touch. Ringbow provides powerful capabilities and layers of functionality that are simply not available in today’s technologies. It multiplies the functionality of everything you do, helping you get much more out of your touch screen games, apps and tools." Continue reading on Ringbow.com

Adding haptic feedback to gesture interfaces

One of the problems with using physical gestures with UI navigation or gaming (think Kinect) is the lack of any sort of haptic feedback. You basically wave your hand around in the air with little physical sense of how much movement is required or when something on the screen is selected. Wearable technology accessories such as these Peregrine Gloves have the ability to change that and add physical feedback to the experience to make it feel more real. The only problem with these gloves? Well, they are not wireless, which is BAD. Right now, adding wireless capability slows down the experience leading to delays in response time and lag. But the company is working on a solution for wireless capability that does not impact the performance. So, my biggest gripe? The aesthetics, or lack thereof. With any interactive glove, I have yet to see a design solution that is fashionable or aesthetically interesting enough to make me (or mainstream markets) want to wear it. So for the moment, these are definitely still in my gadget geek-wear category.

More info at: Peregrine Gloves and crunchwear

3D Printed Wearable Planters

I am loving these tiny wearable planters that are made from raw 3D prints. 3D printing is on the verge of revolutionizing the way that products are produced and sold and the technology is making it's way to mainstream. An example is Cubify's 3D desktop printer that offers the printer at a reachable price. Etsy store Wearable Planters marries organic plants with acrylic plastic through the usage of 3D printing to create a wonderful, mood-brightening product that is sure to bring a smile to your face!

Read more at gumballtech Images from etsy

Glasses provide sound and scent

Researchers from Keio University in Tokyo have created glasses designed to not only augment the wearer's sight, but also sound AND smell. The glasses are aimed to enhance our social experience by emitting sound and smell signals that are unique to a person that you meet. In the words of its makers, "it is an attempt to encourage face-to-face communication with emotional and memorable sound and smell experiences."

How they work The glasses communicate with your smartphone via Bluetooth. Once the infrared sensors on the glasses detect somebody else wearing a pair of Sound Perfume goggles nearby, a message containing your name, contact number and your unique sound and smell signatures is sent to that person. In response, the recipient's phone communicates with his or her glasses, which in turn emit your signature sound and odor.

The system can also be paired with a mobile phone's camera to save not only the location and time an image was taken, but also the sound and smell information of the person in the photo. So when viewing the photo later or walking past the location, the sound and smell of the person you shared the experience with is triggered. What is the point of all that? The additional stimulation is to assist in building a fond multi-sensory memory of your encounter.

Continue reading on Gizmag

Electronic Eyeglasses Change Prescription On Command

There's a new breed of spectacles that modify your sight for every occasion. Developed by a company called PixelOptics, emPower electronic focusing eyewear does exactly what it sounds like: change prescription with help from a microprocessor that alters the transparent liquid crystal lense. The technology, which has been in development for years, doesn't come cheap--the glasses start at $1,250. Continue reading on Fastcompany.

Or watch the video to see how it works. Be warned...this video is very sales-y (aka, cheesy) since they are targeting eyewear companies, not consumers:

The new aesthetic of wearable medical devices

[gallery]There's an emerging trend focused on a new aesthetic of wearable medical devices that are beautiful, fashionable, functional, and ultimately celebrate an ailment rather than hide it. Afterall, if you have to wear one why make it look like a "medical device"? Here are few of my favorites that are paving the way toward aesthetically fashionable personal wellness: Bespoke Fairing™ are specialized coverings that surround an existing prosthetic leg, accurately recreating the body form through a process that uses three-dimensional scanning to capture the unique leg shape. But Fairings not only return the lost contour, they invite an expression of personality and individuality that has never before been possible.

Lanzavecchia + Wai design disability aids that become a stage to discuss, understand and cope with disability, illness and human frailty. Their designs create a bridge between the user and producer aiming to open the possibilities and new values that these vital body accessories can bestow upon the user.

Leah Heiss, in collaboration with Nanotechnology Victoria, has developed a range of jewelry with therapeutic properties, including functional insulin applicator jewelry for diabetics.

Image source Bespoke Fairing, Lanzavecchia + Wai, Leah Heiss