Make room in your smart jewelry box for the new smart ring


Clear a space on your bureau between your smart glasses, smart watch, and smartphone, because Japanese startup 16Lab is developing the latest iteration of wearable technology: the smart ring.
The ring will combine a motion sensor with a Bluetooth chip, Forbes reports, allowing it to recognize hand motions and translate them into commands. The idea is that moving your hand a certain way will allow you to perform tasks like changing the channel on your television or selecting a certain song out of a playlist.
Making a smart ring does come with some unique complications, Forbes notes. The wearable can't be too cumbersome as to be impractical and uncomfortable, for example, and the tight fit of a ring on the finger requires that it not exude excessive heat.
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16Lab plans to launch the ring in eight countries next spring.
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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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