The smartphone with moves like Jagger

A prototype smartwatch developed by researchers in North America can move in a variety of ways offering users greater functionality.

The concept watch – called Cito – is the breakdancer of smartwatches. It can orbit, hinge, rotate, translate and rise its way around your wrist.

Made by teams from Dartmouth College and the University of Waterloo, Cito will be on display this week – 10 May – at the ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Denver, Colorado.

“Users want smartwatches that fit their lifestyles and needs. The Cito prototype is an exciting innovation that could give consumers even more great reasons to wear smartwatches,” said Xing-Dong Yang, assistant professor of computer science at Dartmouth. Consumers will question the need for smartwatches if the devices are just not convenient enough. Cito proves the true potential of smartwatches and shows that they can be functional and fun.”

It could also provide a better product for people with physical disabilities and impairments.

“We recognize that our work investigates a radical idea, but our hope is that we also show how a methodical and principled approach can explore any such radical visions,” the research team said.