[CEATEC 2015] Hmmm, it does feel as though the past year has been one of upgrades for the likes of Omron and their ping pong robot, as 16Lab too, has decided to improve upon their wearable ring which was shown off at CEATEC last year. Back then, the waterproof ring proved to be quite an interesting device to use, but it seems that a year down the road, there has not been many practical applications in which this wearable device has – perhaps that is because it is still being refined. Just what are some of the upgrades which can be seen in this new and improved 16Lab ring? For starters, it is 30% smaller in volume compared to its predecessor, making it more compact and lighter to wear than ever before, not that the original was a burden on your finger.
Not only that, the folks over at 16Lab has decided that Bluetooth LE alone is not good enough to be within, which is why they have thrown in NFC support as well. It will also drop the contact charging points, which means that it will incorporate wireless charging through an NFC alternator that relies on a high frequency so that it can juice up as soon as possible.
The battery life also seems to have improved – according to the person behind the ring’s software, it should last anywhere from 2 to 4 days of use – and takes around five hours to charge up fully. So far, in a day that is packed full of demonstrations, this particular device has been working for the better part of 7 hours, and saw a battery drain of only 20-something percent, now how about that? Since it has also dropped its contact points to make wireless charging a reality, it would also augment the waterproof capability of this device.
Admittedly, while 16Lab is stuck in a chicken-and-egg situation, where there is no demand for such a device simply because there are no items out there in the market that would spark such a demand, we do know that one of their partners is Toyota – although how this ring will be incorporated remains to be seen. 16Lab also has other partners up their sleeves, but they are not at liberty to disclose their identities as at press time. Pricing details also remain unknown.
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