OneRing

Inspiration

The one ring to rule them all. The iconic object from Lord of the Rings represents the pinnacle of power - all contained within this one ring. Our definition of power was the ultimate balance of form and function. Being a multidisciplinary team - Physics, Neuroscience, CS, and COGS - we all had something different to bring to the table, and we knew we had to use it.

What it does

Go invisible - do not disturb! - just like in the movies. Call 9-1-1 in an emergency, toggle your playlists, get on the bus... all hands-free.

How we built it

The scope of this project involves 3D Modelling, Creative Design, Hardware and Firmware. We built a portable ring capable of wirelessly interfacing with your personal device. We used the Arduino IDE environment to implement the logic for how button presses are processed and sent to the device. The ring itself was designed in Solidworks and 3D Printed.

Challenges we ran into

Plenty! But to name one that was so rewarding to overcome:

Building a working proof-of-concept for using public transit. In order to do this, we first needed the physical NFC chip from a Vancouver Compass Card. Our simple, initial hack—dissolving the card in 100% pure acetone—failed after hours of patient work when we discovered the manufacturer had embedded physical guardrails to actively prevent chip manipulation. We pivoted immediately to microsurgery: we used precision tools to separate the fragile chip from its original wiring. To re-establish the connection in a ring-ready format, we carefully soldered it using 38 AWG copper wiring and a precise application of conductive silver epoxy. This low-level, hardware-first solution ensured our ring was functional, proving that even manufacturer defenses can be overcome with a steady hand and sheer tenacity.