Computing with Smart Rings: A Systematic Literature Review
A smart ring is a wearable electronic device in the form of a ring that incorporates diverse sensors and computing technologies to perform a variety of functions. Designed for use with fingers, smart rings are capable of sensing more subtle and abundant hand movements, thus making them a good platform for interaction. Meanwhile, fingers are abundant with blood vessels and nerve endings and accustomed to wearing rings, providing an ideal site for continuous health monitoring through smart rings, which combine comfort with the ability to capture vital biometric data, making them suitable for all-day wear. We collected in total of 206 smart ring-related publications and conducted a systematic literature review. We provide a taxonomy regarding the sensing and feedback modalities, applications, and phenomena. We review and categorize these literatures into four main areas: (1) interaction - input, (2) interaction - output, (3) passive sensing - in body feature, (4) passive sensing - out body activity. This comprehensive review highlights the current advancements within the field of smart ring and identifies potential areas for future research.
Authors
- Xiangyang Wang
- Ruotong Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3691-3110)
- Zhe He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5874-1096)
- Huan-ang Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6727-5778)
- Chun Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2591-7993)
- Jiankai Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5388-4552)
- Jiexin Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9599-1586)
- Z. S. Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5048-1665)
- Yuanchun Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2273-6927)
- Zhuojun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4374-9452)
- Xiyuxing Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9337-2278)
- Tobias Röddiger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4718-9280)
- Weiye Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5031-8154)
- Nan Gao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9694-2689)
- Yuntao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4249-8893)
- Jun Fang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2614-8674)
Institutions
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
- Qinghai University (CN)
- University of Washington (US)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies
- Published
- 2025-09-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1145/3749480
- Primary Topic
- Interactive and Immersive Displays
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Key Laboratory of Human Factors Engineering
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Tsinghua University
- Qinghai University
- Beijing National Research Center For Information Science And Technology
- Division of Undergraduate Education