Wearable Computing Ring Allows Users to Write Words and Numbers with Thumb
From: Product Design and Development - 11/30/2017

With the whirl of a thumb, Georgia Tech researchers have created technology
that allows people to trace letters and numbers on their fingers and see the
figures appear on a nearby computer screen. The system is triggered by a
thumb ring outfitted with a gyroscope and tiny microphone. As wearers strum
their thumb across the fingers, the hardware detects the movement.

In a video demonstration, the "written" figures appear on an adjacent screen.
In the future, the researchers say the technology could be used to send phone
calls to voicemail or answer text messages - all without the wearer reaching
for their phone or even looking at it.

The system is called Fingersound. While other gesture-based systems require
the user to perform gestures in the air, Fingersound uses the fingers as a
canvas. This allows the system to clearly recognize the beginning and end of
an intended gesture by using the microphone and gyroscope to detect the
signal. In addition to helping recognize the start and end of a gesture, it
also provides tactile feedback while performing the gestures. This feedback
is crucial for user experience and is missing on other in-air gestures.

Read the entire article at:
https://www.pddnet.com/news/2017/11/wearable-computing-ring-allows-users-write-words-and-numbers-thumb

Links:
Smart Ring Allows Users To Write with Only Their Thumb
https://www.ecnmag.com/blog/2017/11/smart-ring-allows-users-write-only-their-thumb

FingerSound: Recognizing unistroke thumb gestures using a ring
https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3130985
http://www.czhang.org/uncategorized/fingersound-recognizing-unistroke-thumb-gestures-using-ring

Fingersound video (2:20)
https://youtu.be/6IIx7nceVeY

Wearable Computing Ring Lets Users Write with Thumb
https://www.rdmag.com/article/2017/12/wearable-computing-ring-lets-users-write-thumb

Related:
Learning Morse Code without Trying
https://www.ecnmag.com/news/2016/10/learning-morse-code-without-trying

Wearable computing gloves can teach Braille, even if you’re not paying
  attention
http://www.news.gatech.edu/2014/06/23/wearable-computing-gloves-can-teach-braille-even-if-you%E2%80%99re-not-paying-attention

Musical Glove Improves Sensation, Mobility for People with Spinal Cord Injury
http://www.news.gatech.edu/hg/item/140221

New Techniques Allow Greater Control of Smartwatches
https://www.ecnmag.com/news/2017/01/new-techniques-allow-greater-control-smartwatches

SoundTrak: Continuous 3D tracking of a finger using active acoustics (video
  3:20)
https://youtu.be/m-i3HJrNc0A

FingOrbits: Interaction with Wearables Using Synchronized Thumb Movements
http://www.czhang.org/uncategorized/fingorbits-interaction-wearables-using-synchronized-thumb-movements

FingOrbits video (1:47)
https://youtu.be/GTiisg_gqwA

Repurposed Sensor Enables Smartwatch to Detect Finger Taps and Other
  Bio-Acoustic Signals
https://www.ecnmag.com/news/2016/10/repurposed-sensor-enables-smartwatch-detect-finger-taps-and-other-bio-acoustic-signals