SkinTrack Replaces Your Smartwatch Touchscreen With Your Skin

SkinTrack is a brand new device that effectively allows you to bypass your cumbersome smartwatch touchscreen, utilizing the skin of your arm as a makeshift touchpad and allowing you to more effectively browse your wearable.

Smartwatch touchscreens are inherently difficult to use due to the small amount of screen space that is available. That’s why some clever people at Carnegie Mellon’s Human Computer Interaction Group developed SkinTrack, a ring that fits onto your finger and, by way of the low-energy, high-frequency signal it sends through your skin, allows you to use your smartwatch by touching your arm.

The innovative device is outlined in a video produced by the Carnegie Mellon University, which shows how SkinTrack allows users to either touch or hover their finger over their arm in order to use their smartwatch. The strength of the signal also means it can be used while material is covering your forearm, meaning you won’t have to roll up your sleeves each time you want to use it.

According to researchers, the SkinTrack is 99 percent accurate even when the user’s arm is obscured with material, with the video showing it being used in order for the smartwatch wearer to browse apps, type out messages and play games such as Angry Birds. Though the tech has come up against some stumbling blocks, such as powering the ring and also overcoming natural obstacles such as sweat negatively impacting its accuracy, it presents the first step in what could eventually prove to be a breakthrough for smartwatch manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung.

Check out the SkinTrack in action in the below video:

[Via Wired]

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