Swiping And Tapping Thumb To Connect To Digital World Is The New Tech Move!

Technology is evolving in leaps and bounds every day, every hour and every moment of the day.

Earlier there were no coloured TVs, no touchscreen phones and no buttons or remotes for operating machines, but gradually and eventually the human interaction with machines have come to be through remote controls and such other direct touch interfaces. But now with the Gen Y coming up, it is time to look beyond the common, achievable and plausible developments as far as technology and gadgets are concerned.

Now is the time to take the touch aspects on devices to a whole new previously unexplored level so much so that only a single movement could define a change in the way the electronic machines work. For you to get a clearer picture on this, let me tell you about a thumb ring, FIN that can connect to numerous electronic gadgets through Bluetooth and voila! You can control such devices just by moving your thumb in different directions. Swiping is a common feature on touchscreen devices and hey! We even swipe our credit/debit cards on Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machine and imagine if such acts could only be possible not through manual swiping but only a swipe indication by your thumb!

An era of wearable gadgets as this is, we have digital waterproof watches and new generation smart-watches (like Samsung Galaxy Gear) that have great resolution, powerful processor and bright display features and can be  commonly used for answering calls while driving when paired with smartphones, also giving out mails and message notifications. We have Google Glass, GPS shoes to Chest straps and even Bluetooth technology that cater to convenient technical, medical and mechanical solutions for all. But now we have FIN that would enable people wearing these rings that are available in different bright colours and are rather gesture control devices making your palm turn into a gesture interface.

Now people can not only talk to someone over the phone publicly without using a phone, s/he can also unlock car doors, change TV channels, play video games, operate computers (PCs and Laptops), deliver presentations without the actual use of hands or working on the device. FIN can do it for you with just a simple movement of the thumb whether it be swiping in different directions, finger tapping or making a gesture of your own wearing the band. Just imagine a band that can set your hands free!

Now you need not type on computers sitting for long hours, or worry about visibility issues on your smartphone or ask your car to play music or answer the phone or control what you want to see or hear and even share loads of data without the buffering and downloading hassles, just with a tap of your finger. And all this you can do keeping your hand inside your pocket if you feel embarrassed to operate smart devices with your thumb on the wide open road. For a quick watch on what FIN can FINish, watch the video below:

Want to know who is behind the creation of such a masterpiece that has the potential to help more than 285 million visually impaired people in interacting with technology? I am sure you do.

Rohildev Nattukallingal in his early 20s, the founder and CEO of RHLvision Technologies, Kochi while still studying Engineering has come up with this brilliant idea of controlling the digital world with just finger movements or rather should I say thumb tips. Several brainstorming sessions and a time span of more than a year has finally led the company to introduce a device for interaction with touch-less devices. RHLvision has been incubated by Kochi-based Startup Village and is a robotic human logic start-up working on technologies based on Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Natural User Interface and Wearable Computing. FIN is one such initiative after the successful Tryara and Ferne Player which enable one to pick jewellery of their choice without even touching them and controlling Smartphone music player with hand gestures, respectively.

The waterproof device, FIN works on reading and analysing your hand gestures and corresponding values so that you can control connected smart devices. The ring has an optical sensor that can detect swipes and taps across hands, communicating the same command to the connected device. It uses Low Energy Technology the likes of Bluetooth so that communication is possible with smart devices. Not only can it detect the accurate thumb movement but also identify each part of finger that is being touched. Changing volume on smartphones could never get easier than wearing a band and swiping your thumb down or up your index finger! Swiping thumb across the palm of your opposite hand could even help you change tracks. The best part is that he device is compatible with Windows, MAC, iOS, Android and even Windows phones.

The company initially faced many problems with the funding part. But as innovative as the company is in itself, its way of using funding is also unique. Crowdfunding has been used here with the help of Indiegogo that served as a platform for people to collectively pool money online to support the efforts made by this organization towards technology enhancements.

Contrary to the company’s expectations, they had garnered much more than one lakh dollars in a few days through the Indiegogo site. Rohil has even announced inducing panic buttons on FIN rings for women safety and better preparation for emergencies and untoward incidents. The device is unique and it USP is that it can connect to three smart devices at the same time, unlike competitors like Gecko or Smarty Ring.

Rohil had taken the help of a private investor, Ritesh Mallik even before he contacted Startup Village in Kochi. This help he could only garner because he had the will and the confidence that he can find someone who can believe in him and bet on his idea and yes, he found Ritesh who invested Rupees 15 lakh in his company with 15% of the equity amount for Rohil himself.

The company also had to create several prototypes first before it finally came up with the final product with different colours to choose from, viz. vermillion orange, royal white, matte black, liberty blue and persian green.

FIN has now come to be among the top 15 startup launches for TechCrunch Hardware Battlefield 2014 during CES 2014 at Las Vegas.

FIN follows the ‘Sixth Sense Technology’ by Pranav Mistry that is a wide, vast gesture-based technology on a much larger scale. And yes, it is dermatologically harmless. The company is currently focussing on US and Europe as their prime markets and will only come to India after their reception abroad. India, as the Chief Product Officer of RHL, Charls Vincent believes is still new to such innovations.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed or rather thumbs crossed for the product’s quick launch in here! Are you ready for the drastic change in the consumer paradigm and for embracing the highly techy technology?