?FingeRing?: a keyboard device for wearable computers
Masaaki Fukumoto, Akira Hiraiwa, Noboru Sonehara · Electronics and Communications in Japan (Part III Fundamental Electronic Science) · 1999
Wearable portable equipment is suited to the future portable information environment. By wearing a miniature computer like a wrist watch or eyeglasses, the user can have immediate access to desired information. This paper discusses the desirable form of the input/output interface for wearable use, and proposes as an example the FingeRing, which is a ring-type keyboard using an acceleration sensor. With the FingeRing, typing can be realized wherever the finger is placed, such as on one's thigh or on a desk. It is also possible to input information while standing or walking. As the symbol generation method for the FingeRing, a chord input method combined with sequential typing is proposed. The combination of fingers to be used is determined through typing evaluation experiments. For the user who has experience in playing a keyboard musical instrument, it is possible to input 52 symbols at a speed exceeding 200 symbols/minute using the proposed system. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Electron Comm Jpn Pt 3, 82(3): 69–81, 1999