Researchers have created a device called IRIS, a smart ring that enables users to interact with smart devices by simply pointing and clicking. This Bluetooth prototype features a compact camera that transmits an image of the chosen device to the user’s smartphone. Users can operate the device by pressing a small button or, for devices that require gradual adjustments like volume, by rotating their hand.
As smart devices have become commonplace in homes—ranging from speakers and security systems to lighting and thermostats—the methods of interacting with them have not evolved much. While users can engage via smartphones or voice commands, these methods often lack the straightforwardness of traditional switches: “Turn on the lamp…. Not that one…. Turn up the speaker volume…. Not that loud!”
Researchers from the University of Washington have introduced IRIS, a smart ring that lets users manage smart devices by directing the ring’s tiny camera at the device and clicking a built-in button. This prototype Bluetooth ring captures an image of the selected device and sends it to the user’s phone for control purposes. Users can modify the device by pressing the button or rotating their hand for functions requiring gradual adjustments, such as volume control. The IRIS, short for Interactive Ring for Interfacing with Smart home devices, offers 16-24 hours of battery life.
The research team showcased their findings on October 16 at the 37th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology in Pittsburgh. However, IRIS is not yet available for public use.
Maruchi Kim, a doctoral student at UW and co-lead author, remarked, “Using voice commands can frequently be quite tedious. Our goal was to design something that is as straightforward and instinctive as clicking an icon on a computer screen.”
The decision to place the technology in a ring stemmed from the belief that it would be a practical accessory for users throughout the day. However, the main challenge was to fit a camera into a compact wireless smart ring, while managing its size and energy use. Additionally, the system was required to switch devices within a second; delays could lead users to think the system was malfunctioning.
To make this work, researchers ensured that the ring compresses images before sending them to the phone. Instead of continuously streaming images, the system only activates upon clicking the button and then shuts off after three seconds of inactivity.
In a study involving 23 participants, twice as many preferred using IRIS compared to just using a voice command system (for this study, Apple’s Siri). On average, the IRIS operated home devices more than two seconds faster than voice commands.
“Looking ahead, integrating the IRIS camera into a health-tracking smart ring could represent a significant evolution for smart rings,” Kim continued. “This would allow smart rings to genuinely enhance or improve human abilities rather than merely reporting statistics like step counts or heart rates.”
The study was co-led by Antonio Glenn and Bandhav Veluri, both doctoral students at the Allen School, with Shyam Gollakota, a UW professor, serving as the senior author. The research team also included Yunseo Lee, a research assistant; Eyoel Gebre, an undergraduate; Aditya Bagaria, a master’s student; and Shwetak Patel, a professor, all from the Allen School. The project received funding from a Moore Inventor Fellow award and the National Science Foundation.
