Oura gets Doublepoint, guesswork goes wrong with touch control dreams
What you need to know
- Oura has announced that it has acquired Doublepoint, a company working on AI-driven technologies for biometrics and touch control.
- Oura says it’s looking for ways to combine Doublepoint’s technology with its health-focused thinking to improve the user experience with “quiet, useful features.”
- The company, including its CEO, Tom Hale, has said little about what users can expect from Oura’s touch controls and other features.
Oura has officially announced that it has acquired a company “specializing” in AI-driven technology, and one of those technologies includes touch control.
The company revealed in a press release that it acquired Doublepoint, a Helsinki-based company, through Oura. While AI is driving Doublepoint’s technology, Oura says its work will help with biometric and “gesture recognition technologies.” This last part is what got people talking, as Ouraa sees this discovery as a way to help the user experience by allowing them to control their devices with “simple movements.”
The user experience at the center is where Oura says it puts its products at the forefront. According to its post, “Doublepoint technology helps devices understand small hand movements, so interactions feel faster and more natural in all different environments.” Oura is looking at how to combine these skills with a strong health focus.
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It concluded that Doublepoint’s technology could help facilitate “quiet, useful features” for users with Oura’s smart rings running in the background without being a hindrance. Oura is not only looking at Doublepoint’s work with touch controls, but also with voice-activated features, too, in its upcoming devices. Oura declined to say much in its announcement, as its CEO, Tom Hale, declined to say much during an interview with Bloomberg (via Android Authority).
Hale said, “This is about a core capability that we can think of as AI and different types of methods and user interactions, as touch becomes more and more important.”
Oura has no interest in slowing down
Oura has (and seems to always have) a strong focus on user health. Bringing Doublepoint into the fold will likely reveal some interesting features, but we’ll have to wait a while until we know for sure. In the meantime, Oura dropped a Defense Health update that introduced Cumulative Stress and new research. Cumulative Stress is said to help users understand how their chronic stress is affecting their bodies.
The company’s research shows that, if left unchecked, high levels of stress can lead to serious problems, such as fatigue and burnout. This review also included a study of the Blood Pressure Profile. Available from Oura Labs, the purpose of this study was to help identify the potential risks of high blood pressure. And let’s not forget about Oura’s biggest product expansion in January: the Ring 4 charging case.
Android Central Take
I’ve never played a smart ring before, but I read what my colleague Derrek Lee had to say about them. Oura is focused on helping users understand their health and the many ways to improve it. In fact, our life is something it is important. When we’re down and out, we’re not doing anyone—like our loved ones—any good. From understanding your blood pressure to understanding why you’re always so tired, the Oura smart ring and its app are your best friends. When these touch controls arrive, I’ll be very interested to see what purpose they serve, and how the user experience raises the bar.
