A half-implant device on fingernails
Emi Tamaki, Ken Iwasaki · 2014
Hand gesture feedback systems using tactile or visual information can only be used in given situations because of the limitations of the device features such as the need for a battery. In this paper, a half-implant device is suggested. The half-implant device consists of a radio frequency (RF) receiving antenna, small electronic parts, and UV gel. The UV gel is used to glue the parts onto the filed user's nail and cover the parts meant to be waterproof. The device receives power from the RF antenna; therefore, it does not require a battery to function. The device notifies whether the finger is in a gesture space by lighting an LED or activating a vibration motor. The primary benefit of this device is that the user can feel hand gesture feedback, anytime and anywhere. The device can be placed on the users' fingernail for approximately three weeks. To verify the devices' influence on the users' gesture task, we conducted a preliminary user study. The experiment revealed that the tactile notification reduced the task time by 2.62 seconds compared to that of the test with no feedback. We also investigated user's acceptability of this kind of technology. It revealed that this technology is acceptable only when it can be removed in the user's will and used in daily-life.