Rings are a powerful form factor for interaction in XR. Being located on a finger and near other digits, they are well positioned to enable rich human-computer input and outputs, such as microgesture sensing and providing haptic feedback. Compared to other wearables, such as watches and earbuds, rings are less obtrusive, so much so that some users wear them continuously. However, their small size inherently means small batteries, and thus very limited I/O capabilities. This led us to develop EverRing, a battery-less ring device powered wirelessly by RF energy transmitted from an XR headset (and future glassses). In evaluations, we quantified how much RF power can be captured wirelessly in the interactive volume in front of a user, how much power each input and output capability consumes, and how the ring maintains a balanced power budget in common XR use cases (productivity, gaming, etc.).

Research Team: Nathan DeVrio, Chris Harrison