SkinTrack lets you control your smart watch with your skin
One day computers will be in us, not on us, but until that day comes most of us find ourselves stuck with fat fingers and tiny screens, but a new future interface might solve your "Fingers and Thumbs" dilema
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2017) 'SkinTrack lets you control your smart watch with your skin', 311 Institute, 19 June. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/skintrack-lets-you-control-your-smart-watch-with-your-skin/ (Accessed: 8 October 2026).
As a Futurist I scoff at your smart watch as I use a neural interface to telepathically write my article. You’ve been sold the dream of a “supercomputer on your wrist” and in reality you’ve probably discovered that a "computer" on your wrist with a small screen sucks, even if it can predict when you're getting ill (eventually). Enjoy sending an E-Mail. Enjoy playing Angry Birds. Ha! Ha!
Now though, thanks to the researchers at Carnegie Mellon’s Future Interfaces Group (FIG) I might have to re-think my scoffing because they’ve found a way to turn your skin into a trackpad, and that might not change everything about the way that we use our devices, but it could certainly change a lot.
Playing Angry Birds? No problem. Writing a text, or an E-Mail? No problem. Scribbling stupid drawings of stickmen and cats that you can send to your loved ones who look at them with hidden contempt while fake laughing? No problem.
FIG’s latest breakthrough, called SkinTrack, works by using four sensors, two in the watch band and two along the edge of the watch face, and a ring, that work together to track your finger’s movements along your arm and your hand.
All of that sounds great, of course, but just imagine the chaos that a bug walking up your arm could cause… Anyway, there are basic swipe features that let users switch between apps, and a feature called “Spatial shortcuts” that let users drag and drop icons, open apps and play games. The sensors can even track your finger hovering above your skin as well, letting you virtually dial numbers and input text, and one day soon there’s no reason why the system could translate you writing on your arm into text on the screen.
While the technology probably won’t come to a consumer product any time, even though Apple does have some $230 Billion in cash in the bank, cough, cough, FIG are now working with Disney on the technology so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens…
What this means for your organisation
Small screens limit wearable input.
Most people are stuck with fat fingers and tiny screens. SkinTrack, from Carnegie Mellon's Future Interfaces Group, tracks a finger along the arm and the hand. That moves input off the screen and onto the skin.
Hover and shortcuts widen the use.
The sensors can track a finger hovering above the skin, so users can dial numbers and input text. Swipes switch apps. Spatial shortcuts drag and drop icons, open apps and play games. Writing on the arm could one day turn into text.
Treat it as a signal, not a product.
The work is unlikely to reach a consumer product soon, though FIG is now working with Disney. Related input methods point the same way. Electromyography sensors are rated Explore, with wide use by 2032. Neural interfaces are rated Watch, with wide use by 2042.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Which of our wearable tasks fail because the screen is too small?
- Who in our team is tracking new ways to give input?
- What would we test first if skin input reached products?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
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Why does this matter?
One day computers will be in us, not on us, but until that day comes most of us find ourselves stuck with fat fingers and tiny screens, but a new future interface might solve your "Fingers and Thumbs" dilema
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity programme, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 19 June 2017. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2017). SkinTrack lets you control your smart watch with your skin. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/skintrack-lets-you-control-your-smart-watch-with-your-skin/
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