It’s not always easy to interact with a smartwatch but they have really small displays. They’re limited in terms of size because there’s only a certain level to which you can expand a watch and if you go beyond that you’re no longer in the wearables category. LumiWatch aims to provide a different solution by using technology which effectively makes your arm or hand the touchscreen for input.
Carnegie Mellon University researchers have developed the LumiWatch smartwatch as a concept to showcase that it’s possible to make your arm or hand into a touchscreen. The LumiWatch has a self-contained 15 lumen projection module and touch sensor which puts a touchscreen interface on the user’s body. They can then just tap and swipe on their skin to unlock the device and control apps.
The prototype is powered by a 1.2 GHz quadcore Qualcomm processor with 768MB of RAM and 4GB of memory. It also has a 740 mAh battery and runs Android 5.1 with support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It measures 50x41x17mm and has all of the components essential for it to function contained within its body.
It’s a novel concept but it’s far from being ready for public release. This technology might make its way to wearable devices of the future but don’t expect to pick up an iteration of this smartwatch at any point in the near future.