"FIN, a Numeric Keypad & Gesture Interface Ring gets huge pre-orders"

FIN, a wearable device developed by a 23-year-old Indian based in Kerala has just concluded an overwhelmingly successful campaign on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.Fin has been developed by Rohildev N, who grew up in Malappuram in Kerala and who graduated from Kathir College of Engineering in Coimbatore in 2012. Eight months ago he established RHL Vision Technologies at the Startup Village in Kochi to work on touchless technologies, a project he started during his final year of engineering.

FIN is a thumb ring. It's way less intimidating than a pinky ring, but if intimidation isn't your primary motive, FIN can do several hi-tech, gadgety things, some of which you may find even more useful than making the guy behind you at the mini mart keep his distance and feel very afraid. In combination with Low Energy Technology, such as Bluetooth, FIN can turn your thumb into a magic wand and its corresponding palm into a numerical keypad and touch interface for smart device control.

FIN creates a intuitive means of controlling anything from smart TVs to smartphones to music players with natural gestures of the hand. Turning the wearer's palm into a touchpad, thumbs will be able to dial numbers, send texts, change the channel, take quick notes, skip songs, and share data with a simple swipe. Fin could be particularly useful to visually challenged people who already sense the world through touch.

The Fin ring is intended to be compatible with iOS and Android devices and the company behind Fin will be releasing an SDK to enable developers to create different applications for Fin.

Indian Device "FIN" gets huge preorders

Fin, a tiny hardware product that you can wear on your thumb as a ring and which converts your whole palm into a gesture interface, has raised about $200,000 from some 1,600 people around the world who have pre-ordered the product.

Fin's initial target was to raise $100,000, but in mid-February, when it found its target getting accomplished faster than it anticipated, it extended the campaign's deadline to March 9, resulting in a doubling of its collections.

This is the second Indian hardware-cum-software startup to have had a great innings on a crowdfunding platform in recent times. Late last year, Gecko, a coin-sized electronic device with a multitude of uses and developed and marketed by a Bangalore startup, raised orders worth $135,485, more than double the initially targeted $50,000.

Fin will be priced at $120 each, but that cost could come down with mass manufacturing. The first shipments are expected in September. "The Indiegogo campaign helped us identify some good manufacturers and distributors too. Many want to fund us now. We expect to finalize a $1 million funding in another month," Rohildev says. The moneys raised will be used to complete the product development and for marketing.