Researchers at Dartmouth and the University of Manitoba have put out a detailed paper on wrist gestures for smart watch interaction. While this concept is not new the research here extends on the previous iterations of wrist control. In particular this paper focuses on how accurate wrist navigation can be. The video shows users playing Tetris and Fruit Ninja using only wrist gestures. You also have to give these researchers credit for rolling their own smart watch loaded up with 12 infrared proximity sensors and a piezo sensor all connected to an Arduino Due.
Android Wear released a basic wrist menu navigation update last year. The Aria is an add-on strap for Android Wear and Pebble Time that offers additional finger gesture control.
There seems to be very few smart watch apps that take advantage of wrist movements despite most devices having a built-in gyroscope and accelerometer. I would love to see an increase in wrist control options beyond the “screen on – when arm is raised”.
Via Dartmouth:
Oct. 14, 2016 — Checking email, tracking fitness, and listening to music, are just a few things that a smartwatch can do but what if your hands aren’t free (i.e. carrying groceries or holding a bus handle)? A Dartmouth-led team has come up with a solution by developing WristWhirl— a smartwatch prototype that uses the wrist wearing the watch as an always-available joystick to perform common touch screen gestures with one-handed continuous input.