Doctoral defence: Zhigang Yin "Computing and Sensing in a Smart Ring“

On Septermber 19 at 10:15 Zhigang Yin will defend his doctoral thesis "Computing and Sensing in a Smart Ring“ to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (in Computer Science).

Supervisor:
Assoc. Prof. Huber Raul Flores Macario, University of Tartu

Oponendid:
Prof. Stephan Sigg, Aalto University (Finland)
Assoc. Prof. Marco Antonio Zúñiga Zamalloa, Delft University of Technology (Holland)

Summary
Pervasive computing envisions computation seamlessly embedded into everyday environments, delivering continuous, context-aware services. Within this vision, wearable computing brings sensing and processing capabilities directly onto the body. Among wearable devices, smart rings have emerged as a promising platform due to their discreet form factor, constant skin contact, and increasingly sophisticated sensing technologies. This thesis explores how smart rings can be redesigned and repurposed to support meaningful real-world applications through natural hand interactions, with a focus on healthcare, personal safety, and sustainability. We investigate how compact smart rings can leverage everyday hand gestures – such as gripping, holding, and touching – to extract physiological, contextual, and environmental information. The central research question is: How can we design and repurpose smart ring-based systems that interpret natural hand behavior to enable real-time sensing in everyday life?

To address this, we propose three sensing systems that each tackle distinct technical challenges and application domains. First, HIPPO estimates hand grip strength by repurposing optical sensors in smart rings to detect subtle surface deformations during natural interactions, such as squeezing a plastic cup. Second, SpikEy detects drink spiking in social settings by analyzing light reflectance while a user naturally holds a drink. It constructs generalized spiking profiles using latent representation learning and motion calibration, enabling robust detection of contaminated drinks across various liquid types and conditions. Third, SNAKE estimates produce quality based on thermal dissipation following human touch. While implemented using a thermal camera, the technique is designed for potential integration into smart rings equipped with miniaturized thermal sensors. Together, these contributions demonstrate how opportunistic sensing and behavior-driven design can expand the capabilities of smart rings. This work positions smart rings as a versatile and practical platform for pervasive computing, enabling low-effort sensing solutions that integrate naturally into everyday life.

The defence will be held also in Zoom (meeting ID: 670 504 9543, passcode: ati).