Soon you’ll be able to make Dick Tracy blush when you have the ability to turn your own flesh into a working tablet. Thanks to a wearable device currently in development known as the Cicret bracelet, it will be possible to project the image of an Android tablet on your skin. Your own skin will double as a display for your smartphone, as the bracelet will project your Android homepage on your forearm. Using a Pico projector, the bracelet displays your smartphone’s interface and all of your content in full color, on your arm. If wearing the Cicret bracelet on your wrist, a discreet light beam on the device will project your Android home page up your arm.
For now, the fully-functioning “skin tablet” is only available to Android users. Activating the device is as easy as a flick of the hand, making your skin a new touchscreen. Using 8 “long range sensors” to detect gestures and taps, the bracelet will enable your forearm to play the touchscreen for your applications. The touch-sensitive and swipe-enabled Cicret will also allow you to make and take phone calls, as well as send and read emails.
Cicret is a Paris-based technology firm that is directing the development of the bracelet, now in the prototype phase. All of this excitement comes with some serious fine print, however. The Cicret is still in the prototyping phase, thus many of the images of the bracelet “in action” are only mock-ups of the envisioned goal. The company has yet to produce an actual working prototype, however there is a website promoting an app that would be coupled with the bracelet.
All of the buzz has sprouted scam potential. Cicret has already posted online warnings about sketchy online sellers who may claim to already have the device in stock. Fans and followers are urged to not believe fake online sales, as Cicret hasn’t scheduled any pre-order/orders of the bracelet. The French company also has yet to announce a release date. Considering their funding strategy, this doesn’t come as a surprise.
The pioneering Frenchmen decided to eschew crowd funding, instead opting for online donations through their website to help with production. According to their website, the Cicret development team seeks to raise $1 million to get the project up and running. An ill-fated Indiegogo campaign launched by the company only raised $1,357 of the $500,000 goal the developers were seeking. Now, their efforts are limited to soliciting donations via PayPal.
However, if the gadget does become a reality, the bracelet will pack a tantalizing array of small A company promo video shows that the bracelet will employ an embedded system that includes a Pico projector, a microprocessor, a memory card, a micro USB port, a small battery, a Bluetooth chip, a WiFi chip and a LED light to top it off. Being WiFi and Bluetooth enabled, users have the choice of how to connect the device to their smartphone. The memory card will be available in either 16 or 32 GB format, with the bracelet coming in 10 available colors.
Enthusiasts can find a beta version of the free app on Google Play. The best feature of the bracelet may have you singing in the rain. The developers are marketing the bracelet as a waterproof convenience to use in atypical situations when people typically procrastinate replying to urgent emails or messages. Soapy and/or wet hands won’t ever be an obstacle again. Users will have the ability to reply instantly whether your hand is wet or not.
What will all this functionality cost?
This is a tricky question. Cicret has yet to divulge all the technology implemented to make the bracelet and it’s not sure who would actually produce the product, so these variables make it hard to attach a price tag. The other big problem is determining whether anyone actually would want it, and how the bracelet would be able to compensate for varying skin tones and wrist widths. We can all hope and wait, as our inner geeks drool. There are reported rumors that a working prototype and public unveiling could soon be on the way, and that Cicret will also support iOS. Only time will tell.
Bio: Matt Thames is Brand Manager for Selby Cables. He enjoys sharing the latest tips and news in the techie field, as well as home theater and entertainment.
