What is it?
You don’t know what your wrist is? It’s just there, at the end of your arm – that bendy bit before your hand. Or, to quote Wikipedia, it’s “the complex of eight bones forming the proximal skeletal segment of the hand”. Ring a bell?
Yes, alright. But why is it in the news?
Because Facebook has unveiled an as-yet-unnamed wristband that lets you control lights, play games, boil kettles and move virtual objects from a distance with tiny movements of your fingers. It’s some years away yet, but Facebook is confident it’ll be the long-term replacement for the computer mouse.
Crikey. How does it work?
Using electromyography (EMG), a medical technology that tests for nerve or muscle damage by stimulating them with electricity. Facebook is using it to translate motor nerve signals sent from the brain to the wrist into digital commands, letting you control devices. These signals are so clear that EMG can understand finger motion of just one millimetre, making it incredibly easy to use (so Facebook claims, anyway). Apparently, the wrist is the ideal body part for EMG sensors.
Why is that?
Because it’s where we usually wear a watch, so any new device would “reasonably fit into everyday life and social contexts”. Also, it’s “right next to the primary instruments you use to interact with the world” – namely, your hands. You can see the wristband in the photo above.
What is she doing in that photo?
Holding an invisible joystick. That thumb at the top is pressing down on a button. The wristband will ‘read’ that motion and transmit the signal to the game she’s playing. Other uses suggested by Facebook include typing on an invisible keyboard (pictured below left); starting a music playlist while cutting vegetables; and dimming a lamp by touching your palm. It’ll use artificial intelligence to learn the specific way you move your body, eventually creating a personalised “interface” that adapts to your needs.
It all sounds incredibly clever (and it certainly makes for an excitingly futuristic video: www. snipca.com/37688), but we foresee two major problems.
What’s the first?
That it looks like the kind of tag prisoners wear so they don’t break curfews when released home. It’s certainly no Tiffany bracelet. But that pales next to the second problem.
Which is?
Trust. Facebook’s privacy reputation still hasn’t recovered from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Many people would feel uneasy about wearing a Facebook device that they’d perceive is reading their thoughts.
And can it do that?
No, and Facebook has been quick to counter this fear. Mike Schroepfer, the firm’s chief technology officer, said: “It is simply motor information – the intent for you to move your hand. It is nowhere near some sort of brain or thoughts or anything like that.” He said also that Facebook wouldn’t have access to any data read by the wristband. But the fact he had to address these concerns is telling. The company knows it will have a battle to persuade people that the device is totally private.
And will it win that battle?
It depends how useful the wristband proves to be. As the rise of Facebook itself shows, lots of people are prepared to sacrifice some privacy for technology that transforms their lives. We won’t know for several years whether it’ll produce a thumbs up or another, far cruder wrist gesture.