BuddyBeads are techno-jewelry, emotional and coded communication accessories in the form of jewelry pieces that allow group members to communicate in an emotional way, with codes and signals they decided upon. Each group member has a matching jewelry piece (for example, a bracelet) made of beads. Each bead carries a message inside. Example for a message can be “I’m talking to a cool guy.” These messages are decided by the group in advance and the group constructs internal codes among its members. Once pressed, the beads transmit their message to the other group members. The messages are constructed from a combination of the bead’s shape (which is identical in all the bracelets within the group) and varying sequences of vibrations that are formed according to the sender’s way of pressing the bead and enhance the message with another layer of meaning. The combination of the visual and haptic information conveys the sender’s state of mind. The friend receives the message in her own bracelet in the form of a correlating bead, which glows and vibrates. Even though different groups may use the same bead shapes, they will mean different things in each group, according to the specific group’s culture and vernacular.
Source: Kikin-Gil, R. 2006. BuddyBeads. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Human Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices & Services (MobileHCI’05). ACM Press, 375–376.
http://grinding.be/2008/03/06/proto-shriekyware-technology-buddybeads-for-teenage-girls/
