Back in October, I participated at UXMag's "Future of Wearable Technology" sketching contest where I got to win & present some of my ideas: an e-ink smartwatch and a pair of ring-controlled glasses. Like I said in a previous post, I will try to develop my sketching skills. Here is the full presentation of these concepts:
I think the most tangible future ecosystem for wearables will consist of devices that are affordable, accessible and actionable which complement each other.
For this contest, I named the concepts The Tagables and they consist of an e-ink smartwatch and a pair of ring-controlled smartglasses.
The e-ink smartwatch
The watch has an E-ink display which enables a much better and deserving battery performance (think Kindle scale).
The display isn’t touch friendly, but it relies on a scrolling surface beneath it. With this surface the users can swipe and navigate through the interface. It also has a tap mechanism in order to confirm actions (as seen from the sketches).
At the end of the strap you have the NFC where you can make mobile payments (Tag to Pay), get access to certain events (Tag to Access) or share data (Tag to Share).
You can also view fitness data based on its sensors (distance, calories etc.). Besides this you can view all kinds of notifications (Facebook, Twitter, Calls, Fitness and Mail).
Around the edges there is a LED light to complement the subtle vibration you feel when you receive a notification.
The smart watch was designed to be an extension of our mobile phone. This means no clutter, no apps you will not use - just the things you need to stay informed with your status.
The ring-controlled smartglasses
The glasses themselves are pretty straightforward. They can display a minimum amount of data (to improve battery/costs) and it can record or take pictures. Nothing special here, but Its beauty relies on how it is working together with its accessory: the ring.
With the ring you can scroll right or left to make decision and tap on it to confirm (just like the watch). For example, when receiving a call you can scroll/swipe right using the ring’s surface to receive the call or left to reject it. The same goes for taking picture (zoom-in, zoom-out, shoot etc.)
I imagined the ring with scrollable gestures and an indicator for a tappable action as you probably depict from the sketches.
Moreover you can use NFC to make quick mobile payments: tag, confirm and pay (Voilà!).
The display of the glasses was imagined to accommodate only the necessary data and nothing more: no other distractions.
Conclusion
To conclude I imagined some devices that can last long, inform the user and provide actionable decisions for the user to have control upon. We are still far away from the Sci-Fi universe, but like it or not, wearables are here to stay.
Fun fact
After sketching this I heard that Sony plans to release an e-paper watch... and they did with the help from the guys at FES (a sort of subdivision of Sony's). It's the second time these kind of coincidences appear. Previously, after publishing my Surface Ring idea, the Smarty Ring Kickstarter campagin launched within a few weeks.
For me it's clear... I need to develop more industrial design skills to take my ideas to the next level, so if you have any recommendations where to start, feel free to contact me. Hope the next idea will be in a more solid and tangible form.