ABSTRACT
A Java Ring is a finger ring that contains a small microprocessor with built-in capabilities for the user, a sort of smart card that is wearable on a finger. Sun Micro system s Java Ring was introduced at their Java One Conference in 1998 and, instead of a gemstone, contained an inexpensive microprocessor in a stainless-steel iButton running a Java virtual machine and preloaded with applets (little application programs). The rings were built by Dallas Semiconductor.
Workstations at the conference had ring readers installed on them that downloaded information about the user from the conference registration system. This information was then used to enable a number of personalized services. For example, a robotic machine made coffee according to user preferences, which it downloaded when they snapped the ring into another ring reader.
Although Java Rings are n’ t widely used yet, such rings or similar devices could have a number of real-world applications, such as starting your car and having all your vehicle s components (such as the seat, mirrors, and radio selections) automatically adjust to your preferences.
The Java Ring is an extremely secure Java-powered electronic token with a continuously running, unalterable real-time clock and rugged packaging, suitable for many applications. The jewel of the Java Ring is the Java iButton -- a one-million transistor, single chip trusted microcomputer with a powerful Java Virtual Machine (JVM) housed in a rugged and secure stainless-steel case.
The Java Ring is a stainless-steel ring, 16-millimeters (0.6 inches) in diameter , that houses a 1-million-transistor processor, called an iButton. The ring has 134 KB of RAM, 32 KB of ROM, a real-time clock and a Java virtual machine, which is a piece of software that recognizes the Java language and translates it for the user s