Less than a year old, French start-up Cicret is hoping to streamline such functions as phone calls, browsing, and watching videos into a single wristband. As Cicret co-founder Guillaume Pommier told MailOnline, the minimal wearable is a “revolutionary device which could completely change how we access information.”
Looking similar to the Jawbone Up, the Cicret Bracelet uses a pico projector to cast a navigation and display ‘screen’ on a user’s arm, as well as eight proximity sensors to detect swipes, clicks, and other motions from a user’s finger in the display area. While the device will eventually be able to connect with smartphones, it’s intended to be a standalone gadget, Pommier explained, and will contain its own 3G card to allow for phone calls. The team also noted that Cicret will be activated with a twist of the wrist — much like some existing smartwatches — and will have an Android-style interface.
The Cicret team will also offer software with the wearable’s roll-out, and with lofty goals: the company bills theCicret app as “the only intuitive, secure, and free solution for those who want to chat, share and exchange safely with no chance of being traceable.” Currently available in beta form, the app will use “innovative encrypted technology, providing anonymity and full control on all contents you have shared, even after sending them.”
The team is still developing the waterproof gadget, and plans to unveil a working prototype in the next few weeks. As MailOnline reported, Pommier hopes that Cicret devices will be available for online and in-store purchase by June of 2015. The team continues to seek investors and supporters via its website, but many have already taken notice of Cicret’s pursuits: as of today, the company’s instructional video for the device has been viewed 5 million times on YouTube.
With wearable devices gaining support and interest from the public, a number of companies have been experimenting with the possibilities of skin-projected navigation screens. As Gizmag noted,
There are potential advantages to turning ordinary objects (or, in this case, limbs) into mobile devices, but projected touch screens typically lack the responsiveness and visual clarity of the glass screens we’re used to. This projected keyboard, for example, delivered a poor typing experience.
Cicret is positioning itself, it seems, to possibly right some of the wrongs that early attempts at skin-projected navigation and other wearable innovation have encountered — or, at least, to help better define what can and can’t be accomplished with this type of tech.
Source: Cicret
posted by +vishalsrinivasan
