With wearables gaining some traction, smartphones and tablets are by no means the only mobile devices around today. Now, however, Cicret is looking to take it one step further and turn his arm into a smartphone.
The bracelet includes a pico projector and a row of eight proximity sensors pointing towards the user's forearm. It functions as a standalone device and, when activated with a twist of the wrist, projects an Android interface into the user arm, as does Chris Harrison's Skinput Research. Proximity sensors detect where the user's finger or fingers are and allow them to interact with the interface as they would any other Android device.
There are potential advantages to converting ordinary (or, in this case, members) objects to mobile devices, but projected touch screens typically lack the responsiveness and visual clarity of the glass screens we are used to. This projected keyboard, for example, provided poor typing experience.
It should be interesting to see if the Cicret Bracelet can improve the technology, to do something we really want to use.
Elsewhere, the Cicret Bracelet features an accelerometer and a vibration module, along with an LED for notifications. Connectivity is provided via WiFi, Bluetooth and a Micro USB port. It is expected to be available on 16GB and 32GB models.
The device will allow users to send and receive emails, surf the web and play. It will also be possible for users to pair it with an existing smartphone, answer incoming phone calls, and activate speakerphone functionality on the smartphone.
Cicret is in the process of raising funds for the future development and production of the Bracelet, but Pommier says he expects the device to reach the mass market within a year and a half. The device could cost up to $ 400, he says, based on what the company's research suggests people would be willing to pay for (sounds like a difficult sale to us).
Cicret's co-founder, Guillaume Pommier, tells Gizmag that the first prototype should be completed in about three weeks.
It can be understood in the following video: