Update, 17 August 2026 — this post is superseded.
The audio module described here was removed from the product. The buckle cavity has
8.6 mm of usable depth, and an acoustic nozzle aimed into the ear eats most of it
before the body of the part begins — every shape that fitted stopped being an
earpiece. The belt now measures waist circumference from the tension in its own
strap. The full arithmetic is here:
I deleted my product's main feature over 8.6 mm.
This post is left up unedited below as a record of what was true when it was written.

For the last decade, smart wearables have been dominated by a single design assumption: if it is smart, it belongs on your wrist.

Smartwatches are great for fitness tracking, but they come with trade-offs. The small screens cause constant micro-distractions, ground planes for antennas are cramped, and wrist motion introduces massive noise for biometric sensors.

Recently, a new category of screenless hardware has been emerging. Among these, Vyldor — a smart leather belt concept — stands out as one of the most mechanically elegant solutions to smartphone fatigue.

Here is an engineering breakdown of why the smart belt form-factor solves problems that smartwatches simply cannot.

1. The Geometry of a Smart Belt

Unlike a watch or a chest pin, a leather belt surrounds the waist. This simple physical trait unlocks three major engineering benefits:

• 1-Metre Woven Loop Antenna: Cramped wrist devices struggle with Bluetooth range. A smart belt allows weaving conductive thread through a 37mm leather strap to create a 1-metre loop aerial, giving it exceptional RF stability.
• Centre of Mass Biometrics: Sensors placed at the body's centre of mass read clean physical movement. While wrist trackers struggle with arm-swing noise during gait analysis, a 6-axis sensor in a belt buckle can authenticate a user's gait within 20 steps.
• Constant Pressure Points: The belt sits snugly against hip bones, making it ideal for tactile and haptic feedback.

2. Key Interface Innovations in Vyldor

Rather than acting as a standalone computer, Vyldor acts as an ergonomic physical interface for the phone already in your pocket.

🎧 Pull-to-Talk Buckle Earpiece

Inside Vyldor's 11.8mm aluminium buckle, a mono audio earpiece is docked magnetically. Pulling the earpiece out opens a direct voice stream; docking it back ends the session and charges the battery. This eliminates the privacy nightmare of always-on microphones.

🧭 Tactile Hip Navigation

Vyldor uses two soft haptic actuators resting against the hip bones. When navigating a city on foot or bike, a gentle tap on the left hip signals a left turn, and a tap on the right hip signals a right turn. No looking down at screens required.

🔑 Body-Coupled Touch Authentication

Using Body-Coupled Signalling (BCS), a microamp signal passes safely through the wearer's skin. Touching a laptop, a door handle, or a terminal transmits authentication tokens automatically.

3. Transparent Development Model

What makes the Vyldor project particularly interesting to follow is its transparent engineering approach.

The team explicitly publishes what is not built yet. There is no physical prototype for sale; every image on their site is rendered live from one parametric CAD model.

• Official Web & 3D Model: https://vyldor.com
• Product Features: https://vyldor.com/features
• Engineering Journal: https://vyldor.com/journal
• Open Hardware Specs: https://github.com/vojtisprime11/vyldor-specs

Conclusion

As screen distraction becomes an increasing concern, screenless interfaces like smart belts prove that technology does not always need to be in front of our eyes to be useful.

Will the smart belt become the next major wearable category? The engineering behind Vyldor certainly makes a compelling case.