In May 2015, UNICEF, ARM and frog collaborated to launch what could be defined as the “most globally inclusive design competition ever†and in just three months, the competition has selected 10 finalists from 250 design submissions from 46 countries and six continents! From a malaria alert bracelet for infants to a water purification band, each finalist in the ˜Wearables for Good™ Design Challenge have created innovative ideas with the potential to enhance our overall quality of life.
“We launched a technology competition and we have ended up with 10 ideas that could all save the lives of millions of vulnerable children,†Simon Segars, CEO, ARM said. “It shows there is a wealth of untapped expertise and ideas out there for new wearable devices that can fulfil a wholly different purpose than is associated with them now.â€
Addressing issues including health, access to clean water, sanitation & hygiene, and child protection; each team consists of designers, engineers and technologists working together to create wearable and sensor-based devices to change the world. This competition shifts the focus from designing wearables for the developed world to showing how these devices can address the problems faced by citizens of developing countries.
The “Wearables for Good†Design Challenge finalists are:
CommunicAID, S: a bracelet that tracks medication treatment
Droplet, S: a wrist-worn wearable water purification device
Guard Band, Vietnam: a wristband that helps protect children from abuse
Khushi Baby, India and U.S: a necklace-type wearable to track child immunization in the first two years of life
Raksh, India: a device worn in the ear to track a child’s respiration rate, heart rate, body temperature and relative breath humidity designed by a team of university students
Soapen, India and U.S.: an interactive crayon-like device that encourages hand washing among young children
Telescrypts, East Africa and U.S: a wearable device to take patients™ vitals and send the data to health care workers
TermoTell, Nigeria and U.S: a bracelet used to monitor and analyze a child’s temperature in real-time in order to save the lives of children at risk of malaria
Totem Open Health Patch, Netherlands: a small sensor-based device that is part of a wider Totem Open Health system for wearable health technology
WAAA!, K.: A sensor-based neonatal health surveillance tool.
“The ideas from the 10 finalists demonstrate how wearable technology can be applied in resource-constrained environments, creating viable business opportunities for the technology sector in developing markets, said Erica Kochi, co-lead and co-founder of UNICEF Innovation. We™ are excited to review the finalists™ refined ideas over the coming months to pick two that have the potential to improve the lives of women and children at a national or global scale.”
The selected finalists will advance to the next competition phase, which includes the development of working prototypes to be submitted in October. In November, two winners will be announced at tech events in Helsinki, Finland and ARM TechCon (Santa Clara, US) to receive a $15,000 prize and incubation from UNICEF, ARM and frog.
As we kick off this next phase of the challenge, our goal is to not only help develop impactful design solutions, but to catalyze a conversation around the actual definition of wearables and the idea of social impact, said Denise Gershbein, Executive Creative Director of frog. Wearables are no longer just devices we wear on our bodies to measure our heart rate or count our steps. What really makes them tick™ is when they are embedded within the context of entire networks, generating significant sustainable social impact. We are excited to help the 10 finalists navigate this challenge and, in turn, rally the global community to explore greater use case potential for wearables and sensor technology.
