CES 2024: RingConn Aims To Revolutionize Fitness Tech With Its Smart Ring

Ringcon, founded by Professor Guoxing Wang and two partners in 2021, takes on Ora with its new smart ring. This is the best time to do so, as according to a DataHorizon Research report, the smart ring market size of $147.1 million in 2022 is expected to reach $1,405.1 million in 2032 at a CAGR of 25.4%.

While we expect there will be more competition in this category in the coming years, this will most likely be determined by people understanding biomedical devices and developing algorithms that work best for each individual, rather than creating end-to-end products without actionable data .

There are several cheap smart devices I've tested that fall into the latter category. It is a challenge to create something that aims to be a category-defining product – and this is what Professor Wang is focused on with the Ringcon Smart Ring.

This is not his first project, as he has previously helped develop biomedical devices. He developed integrated circuit chips for a company called Second Sight that sought to restore sight to the blind. His expertise lies in circuit design with a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of California. I sat down with Professor Wang to talk about Ringcon, the future of smart rings, and what he plans to achieve with his first product.

(..let's talk about the second location in our conversation) You are now a teacher. Why switch to engineering and start your own health technology company?

I worked on this amazing product and we succeeded because blind people can see a certain amount after fingerprints (in eye devices). They looked at the cards in his hand and walked along the road. So it's profitable, even though the business side is less than brilliant because the costs are very expensive and don't convince insurance companies to support it.

But it was a very important experience for me. I've been a teacher for 10 years, so I feel like I still have some techniques in me. I want to create products for people to use and not just publish a bunch of articles. That's why I founded Rincon.

When I worked in the biomedical field, I was interested in circuit research with biological applications. I knew then that sanitary equipment was very important. This can be very useful, especially on mobile devices. For example, the retina process that I developed previously, is very useful and amazing when people can see. After more than 10 years of smartwatch research and development, I think it's time to do something better.

For example, smartwatches are uncomfortable to wear at night and cannot accurately monitor various health parameters. Here I think a smart ring might be the solution.

How is the Ringcon Smart Ring different from other trackers, such as the Aura Ring or Ultrahuman Ring?

I think we have developed a good product in terms of accuracy in recording vital signs. For example, heart rate, oxygen saturation levels and body temperature are more accurate. Although it is very difficult for consumers to realize this, they can verify it by trying other products. It's not easy, but we ran some tests and got a more accurate reading.

Second, we have developed a product that can be used for seven days on a single charge. This is because we chose a low power electronic design.

The third thing is that we design products that are more comfortable. When you wear our smart ring on your finger, you will feel much better because the design is not completely circular but slightly square on the sides. This way your fingers won't get hurt. The shape of the bones is not round and more or less square, so our shells also have the same design. Fits your finger more comfortably.

I've worn some rings with full circle designs and found them uncomfortable when they touched other fingers, so I agree with you on that. However, I had to try the Ringcon Smart Ring for myself to see how comfortable it is.

Yes, definitely yes and that's the difference you can feel.

Speaking of accuracy, how can you make it more accurate? Why is it more accurate than smartwatches?

Yes I think it is much better than a smartwatch because it fits on your finger, so you can get more accurate data from the sensor compared to your wrist. The sensors are closer to the large blood vessels in the fingers than on the wrist.

We made it more specific because we put a lot of research effort into it and others may not understand the deep implications. This way we know how to optimize the hardware and algorithms and how to control the sensors to get the best readings. We attach great importance to our research and research collaborations with universities because, as a professor, I know the positive side: they can help in some other areas and improve algorithms.

That's why I believe we've combined the best of academia and development to create the best algorithm on the market to date.

So, when it comes to accuracy, how accurate is the stress and sleep tracking data?

I don't think there is a gold standard for tracking stress yet. We developed stress monitoring using heartbeats in this circuit (pointing to the index finger area), with hundreds of variations, and refined the algorithm. I checked his stress level myself and it turned out to be completely accurate because every time I met him, his stress level was very high, like now (laughs).

If there's no gold standard for it, how do you know it's true?

Yes, there are no equal values ​​among all people. However, there are several ways to estimate the stress you are experiencing. For example, taking advantage of differences in blood flow to the index finger. Medical experts have found that the greater your heart rate variability, the more relaxed you are.

Despite 24/7 monitoring, how can you achieve your 7-day battery life target?

As I said before, we put a lot of effort into research. The most important sensor is the PPG sensor, which records blood flow in the blood vessels. This consumes more battery. It sends a light signal to the blood vessels that is transmitted through the finger and reflected by the sensor.

That's why we focus on finding the best way to optimize it and use as little energy as possible. Another way is an algorithm. We break down the algorithms in the firmware and control the entire system including electronics, wireless transmission and all signal calculations to make it more efficient. We have developed the best circuit designs and algorithms.

Is this Rincon's circuit design?

Yes, we develop everything ourselves.

There are a lot of fitness trackers that give me a score, like a sleep score or a stress score, or give me a bunch of numbers. But these numbers are difficult to understand. Have you attempted to provide more actionable information based on these numbers?

For things like stress, you can find out what causes the most stress when using it. For example, I know that my stress levels increase during meetings and perhaps I could be more aware of it and adjust my lifestyle accordingly. For example, I know that when I start a meeting, I should breathe more deeply and relax a little. In my opinion, this is how we should use stress level indicators.

Regarding sleep logging, I know there is a lot of sleep tracking software on the market. But what we try to do is calculate a sleep score based on sleep duration and stages. There are ideal sleep ranges and our app provides recommended ranges for different sleep stages to help people understand how sleep scores are calculated, so they can make appropriate changes to their lifestyle.

I know that some people say that a person should get a certain amount of sleep every night, but I don't think that applies to everyone because everyone's sleep habits are different. People of different ages sleep differently. One should sleep at different times in summer than in winter. We give users the ability to enter their best sleep duration and then calculate a sleep score based on user ratings.

What is included in sleep?

Yes, we give users the option to enter sleep goals and sleep goals are included

“Artificial Intelligence” is very popular these days. Does artificial intelligence have anything to do with it?

Yes, we use the most advanced algorithms to calculate the score and calculate the sleep apnea index.

Are these all approved by the Food and Drug Administration? If not, do you have a timeline for doing this?

Not yet. We haven't received permission yet but it is being processed. We hope it will be out later this year.

I saw on the website that the “Training Mode” and “Sleep Apnea” features will be available soon. Can you explain what it is?

(Talking about training mode) Yeah, that's an upcoming feature and I'll let people wait and see what it is when it's released [laughs].

But let me tell you more about what we experience with sleep apnea. This is a sleep disorder in which breathing stops and starts repeatedly. This usually happens to people who snore. For some people, this affects the brain because they get less oxygen than they need. Imagine if you slept every night and didn't get enough oxygen, the oxygen would build up and it could be very dangerous.

We have developed an algorithm that can tell you the next morning how many times you stopped breathing. If it is very severe, we recommend that you see a doctor. I think this will be useful for many people. It will be released soon.

Do you think RingConn smart rings can change people's lives?

Yes, I think people are not satisfied with smartwatches. I think our smart ring can work better because it can get more accurate signals from the finger. Additionally, they can do more things, such as detect sleep apnea. We are working on more features and they will be available soon

I think we can make a big difference because we don't just make toys like smart bracelets or watches, we offer precision tracking.

Their app is currently free, but competitors like Oura and Ultrahuman are taking money. Are you considering launching a paid tier in the RingConn app?

Yes, but for all the basic features we will still provide them for free. We'll explore driving levels that offer more advanced features like sleep apnea, but we'll make our decisions based on the cost of driving and how the market responds. However, all currently available features will be free.

Smart Ring is their first product. Do you plan to expand your production line in the future?

Currently, I think the smart ring is a superior product and has a lot of potential that can be explored. But for now we will focus on this topic.

Additionally, I spoke in more depth about Rincon's research and development efforts with Dr. Hao Wu (Tony), co-founder of Shenzhen University, text below:

How is the Ringcon Smart Ring different from other rings on the market from a research and development perspective? I found that the circuit design was done internally. How does this help me as a user?

In Ringcon Smart Ring we have a PPG sensor, skin temperature sensor and accelerometer. The hardware and software is what sets it apart from other mobile devices.

We design the circuit ourselves with a great LED layout design so you can measure high quality. Thanks to this we can improve the program to achieve better accuracy.

They are seeking FDA approval and adding a glide apnea detection feature to the smart ring. Depends on the implementation of the feature implementation?

Yes, we have applied for two FDA approved certificates for glide apnea detection. They will probably be heralded at the end of this year (2024). No, we do not need to wait for FDA approval to implement this feature. Now available in open version for our users. We're still checking it.

Are you planning to launch blood pressure monitoring and blood sugar monitoring?

Two different things. Regarding blood pressure measurements, we have been conducting research for approximately seven years. Last year we made good progress. We measure blood pressure on the ring. To control blood sugar, this is not easy and we have not started any research on this.

Do you have a blood pressure monitoring device in this version?

No, we plan to release it in the next version.

The conversation has been edited and focused for clarity.

I'm currently using RingConn Smart Rings for review. My initial impressions are positive and the flat sides make a difference making it more comfortable

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