The PicoRing, designed by University of Tokyo researchers, is a ring that’s a full-fledged computer mouse when worn on your finger. Just put it on and your hand becomes the interface. Early testing shows it can do accurate scrolling and clicking with your thumb against your index finger and uses so little power that one charge lasts weeks.
Engineers faced a tough problem from the start: how to put mouse intelligence into something as thin as a ring without continuous recharging. Previous attempts at finger-based pointers drained batteries in hours because of the power required for ordinary wireless transmissions. PicoRing avoids this completely. A small coil in the ring talks to a companion band on the wrist using magnetic fields to transfer data. When you roll your thumb over the tiny trackball or press down, the ring’s sensors detect the movement. A microcontroller in the ring tweaks the coil’s electrical tune just enough to send a clear signal to the wristband, which then sends it to your laptop or VR headset. This magnetic handshake uses only a tiny bit of power – hundreds of microwatts at peak.
A 27-milliamper-hour battery in a 5-gram ring will last 600 hours if used 8 hours per day and 1,000 hours if used 4 hours per day. The bracelet, which is larger in this version but necessary as a bridge, performs the heavy work while connecting to gadgets.
You can use natural flicks to move a cursor across screens or pinch and roll to explore virtual reality worlds as if you were sketching in the air. The trackball is flush against the finger, and the tracking scrolls use internal magnets and switches that feel sharp when touched. Early samples demonstrate smooth tracking even in low-light settings or with enhanced overlays. For VR lovers who are tired of large remotes that cramp their hands after an hour, this is the arrangement that allows you to remain immersed in the experience, your body moving in sync with the digital realm.
Beyond the screen, picoRing suggests that health trackers may be integrated into the ring’s frame, tracking pulses or tension via skin-contact sensors and powered by the same low-power mechanism. Developers see it also in augmented installations, where overlaying data on the real environment necessitates inputs that do not snag on conventional keyboards. The prototype’s wristband may be slimmed down in future incarnations, either to a basic bracelet or integrated into smart watches. For the time being, however, the focus is on establishing the essential concept: a mouse that lives on your finger and is ready whenever you want.
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