We present empirical results about users' gesture preferences for smart rings by analyzing 672 gestures from 24 participants. We report an overall low consensus (mean .112, maximum .225 on the unit scale) between participants' gesture proposals, and we point to the challenges of designing highly-generalizable ring gestures across users. We also contribute to the practice of gesture elicitation studies by discussing how a priori conditions (e.g., participants' traits, such as creativity and motor skills), commitment and behavior during the experiment (e.g., their thinking times), but also a posteriori aspects (the experimenter's choice of criteria to group gestures into categories) affect agreement. We offer design guidelines for ring gestures informed by our empirical observations, and present a collection of gestures reflective of our participants' mental models for effecting commands using smart rings.

Gestures for Smart Rings: Empirical Results, Insights, and Design Implications

Human augmentation is a field of research that aims to enhance human abilities through medicine or technology. This has historically been achieved by consuming chemical substances that improve a selected ability or by installing implants which require medical operations. Both of these methods of augmentation can be invasive. Augmented abilities have also been achieved with external tools, such as eyeglasses, binoculars, microscopes or highly sensitive microphones. Lately, augmented reality and multimodal interaction technologies have enabled non-invasive ways to augment human. In this article, we first discuss the field and related terms. We provide relevant definitions based on the present understanding of the field. This is followed by a summary of existing work in augmented senses, action, and cognition. Our contribution to the future includes a model for wearable augmentation. In addition, we present a call for research to realize this vision. Then, we discuss future human abilities. Wearable technologies may act as mediators for human augmentation, in the same manner as eyeglasses once revolutionized human vision. Non-invasive and easy-to-use wearable extensions will enable lengthening the active life for aging citizens or supporting the full inclusion of people with special needs in society, but there are also potential problems. Therefore, we conclude by discussing ethical and societal issues: privacy, social manipulation, autonomy and side effects, accessibility, safety and balance, and unpredictable future.

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Human augmentation : Past, present and future

Background: Assessment of sleep quality is essential to address poor sleep quality and understand changes. Owing to the advances in the Internet of Things and wearable technologies, sleep monitoring under free-living conditions has become feasible and practicable. Smart rings and smartwatches can be employed to perform mid- or long-term home-based sleep monitoring. However, the validity of such wearables should be investigated in terms of sleep parameters. Sleep validation studies are mostly limited to short-term laboratory tests; there is a need for a study to assess the sleep attributes of wearables in everyday settings, where users engage in their daily routines.
Objective: This study aims to evaluate the sleep parameters of the Oura ring along with the Samsung Gear Sport watch in comparison with a medically approved actigraphy device in a midterm everyday setting, where users engage in their daily routines.
Methods: We conducted home-based sleep monitoring in which the sleep parameters of 45 healthy individuals (23 women and 22 men) were tracked for 7 days. Total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE), and wake after sleep onset (WASO) of the ring and watch were assessed using paired t tests, Bland-Altman plots, and Pearson correlation. The parameters were also investigated considering the gender of the participants as a dependent variable.
Results: We found significant correlations between the ring’s and actigraphy’s TST (r=0.86; P<.001), WASO (r=0.41; P<.001), and SE (r=0.47; P<.001). Comparing the watch with actigraphy showed a significant correlation in TST (r=0.59; P<.001). The mean differences in TST, WASO, and SE of the ring and actigraphy were within satisfactory ranges, although there were significant differences between the parameters (P<.001); TST and SE mean differences were also within satisfactory ranges for the watch, and the WASO was slightly higher than the range (31.27, SD 35.15). However, the mean differences of the parameters between the watch and actigraphy were considerably higher than those of the ring. The watch also showed a significant difference in TST (P<.001) between female and male groups.
Conclusions: In a sample population of healthy adults, the sleep parameters of both the Oura ring and Samsung watch have acceptable mean differences and indicate significant correlations with actigraphy, but the ring outperforms the watch in terms of the nonstaging sleep parameters.

Sleep Tracking of a Commercially Available Smart Ring and Smartwatch Against Medical-Grade Actigraphy in Everyday Settings: Instrument Validation Study

Augmented reality can provide a new experience to users by adding virtual objects where they are relevant in the real world. The new generation of mobile phones o ers a platform to develop augmented reality application for industry as well as for the general public. Although some applications are reaching commercial viability, the technology is still limited. The main problem designers have to face when building an augmented reality application is to implement an interaction method. Interacting through the mobile's keyboard can prevent the user from looking on the screen. Normally, mobile devices have small keyboards, which are di cult to use without looking at them. Displaying a virtual keyboard on the screen is not a good solution either as the small screen is used to display the augmented real world. This thesis proposes a gesture-based interaction approach for this kind of applications. The idea is that by holding and moving the mobile phone in di erent ways, users are able to interact with virtual content. This approach combines the use of input devices as keyboards or joysticks and the detection of gestures performed with the body into one scenario: the detection of the phone's movements performed by users. Based on an investigation of people's own preferred gestures, a repertoire of manipulations was de ned and used to implement a demonstrator application running on a mobile phone. This demo was tested to evaluate the gesture-based interaction within an augmented reality application. The experiment shows that it is possible to implement and use gesturebased interaction in augmented reality. Gestures can be designed to solve the limitations of augmented reality and o er a natural and easy to learn interaction to the user.

Interactive augmented reality

New form factors and user interfaces for computer-mediated communication are emerging. The possibilities to use these systems for emotional communication are interesting, and recent years have witnessed the appearance of a versatile range of prototypes. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic literature review on research addressing the design of systems with unconventional user interfaces for emotional communication, focusing on the use case of facilitating long-distance relationships. We reviewed a body of 150 papers resulting from a systematic search, further analysis scoping the body to 47 papers, containing altogether 52 prototypes that were relevant for our focus. We then analysed the characteristics affecting the interaction mediated by these systems and their user interfaces. We present the results related to the design attributes, e.g., form factors, modalities, and message types of the systems, as well as to the evaluation approaches. As salient findings, touch input and visual output are the most common interaction modalities in these systems, and their evaluations lack in-the-wild studies, especially on long-term usage.

Review of unconventional user interfaces for emotional communication between long-distance partners

The Solar Shirt is a wearable computing design concept and demo in the area of sustainable and ecological design. The Solar Shirt showcases a concept, which detects the level of noise pollution in the wearer's environment and illustrates it with a garment-integrated display. In addition, the design concept utilizes printed electronic solar cells as part of the garment design, illustrating a design vision towards zero energy wearable computing. The Solar Shirt uses reindeer leather as its main material, giving a soft and luxurious feeling to the garment. The material selections and the style of the garment derive their inspiration from Arctic Design, reflecting the purity of nature and the simplicity and silence of a snowy world.

Solar shirt: design of an environmental awareness wearable

In this paper, we present a concept design and a prototype that utilizes a candle as communication media. We present a motorized candle stand, which casts different shadows on the wall based on messages received by a mobile phone. We envision that this pervasive display concept is suited for emotional communication,. Our work has novelty in human-computer interaction research in its use of a candle as a tangible user interface and a live flame to create a public display. The concept was evaluated using a focus group method. The results show that the emotional communication concept matches well with user perceptions of candle light, and that the authenticity of the flame is an important part of the concept design.

In the candle light: pervasive display concept for emotional communication

In this paper, we explore design preferences and possibilities for smart handbags from the user perspective. We present designs and findings derived through a co-design process, which consisted of two studies; first with individual drawing based brainstorming (n=20), and second with two co-design workshops (n=10), where participants assessed different designs and features, and created low-fi prototypes of smart handbag concepts. Participants proposed large shape and style variations for smart handbags, according to the intended contexts, use cases, and lifestyle. In this respect the desire for modifiability, e.g. adapting in size and shape, was highlighted. The handbag's durability, weatherproofness and use of high quality materials were also raised.

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Exploring smart handbag concepts through co-design

This paper explores experiences with ring and bracelet activity tracker form factors. During the first week of a 2-week field study participants (n=6) wore non-functional mock-ups of ring and bracelet wellness trackers, and provided feedback on their experiences. During the second week, participants used a commercial wellness tracking ring, which collected physical exercise and sleep data and visualized it in a mobile application. Our salient findings based on 196 user diary entries suggest, that the ring form factor is considered beautiful, aesthetic and contributing to the wearer's image. However, the bracelet form factor is more practical for active lifestyle, and preferred in situations where the hands are performing tasks requiring gripping objects, such as sport activities, cleaning the car, cooking and washing dishes. Users strongly identified the ring form factor as jewellery that is intended to be seen, whereas bracelets were considered hidden and inconspicuous elements of the user's ensemble.

Experiences with wellness ring and bracelet form factor

We present a design space for interaction with a ring, worn on the user's finger. Whilst prior work has studied the ring as a means of attachment for hand motion sensors, we investigate the interaction possibilities provided by the natural affordance of the ring form factor itself. Interactions include, for example, changing the placement of the ring on the fingers, moving the ring along or around a finger and spinning of the ring on a surface.

Tuomas Lappalainen

Papers

Solar shirt: design of an environmental awareness wearable

In the candle light: pervasive display concept for emotional communication

Exploring smart handbag concepts through co-design

Experiences with wellness ring and bracelet form factor

Ring form factor: a design space for interaction