Near Field Communication, radio communication between gadgets, is becoming more useful in the connected-things market. A new NFC technology made by Fujitsu, a company from Japan, wants to create a new brand of input by building it in a smart ring. This makes me immediately think of Leap Motion, which works by tracking the parts of the hand directly, however the Fujitsu ring works as the (wearable) tracker itself to detect individual words written mid-air (The Verge).

Using Bluetooth, the device easily fits on the index finger and links to a smartphone or other mobile device with a Fujitsu app, which can then recognize numbers and characters written with the ring (Computer World). According to Fujitsu, it can do this with 95 percent accuracy, with the exception of Alpha (Letter) accuracy inputs. The accuracy of determining every single written letter, as well as “stroked between letters” isn't quite known yet (you would hope they figure that part out soon).

The company addressed this issue with Tech Smash, announcing their new software that will “automatically recognize the unwanted connections between the strokes of the letterform that result from the longhand trace, and correct the track data accordingly”.

The prototype sure isn't ready yet. Besides the accuracy issue, physically it needs a few tweaks here and there. After all the testing and tweaking, a late 2015 release date is expected for the ring. We'll definitely be seeing this ring used in the technology sector, as well as a quick on-the-go option for responding to an email or text when a keyboard isn't near. Tech Smash mentions the potential of using Fujitsu's ring as a safer option for texting while driving. That one I'm not so sure about.