A team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology invented a type of wearable gadget that can help protect women from sexual-assault.
What they came up with is a sensor strip that sticks unto items of clothing like brassieres and panties. When active, the device will send out a signal to a paired mobile device should the wearer be forcefully touched or undressed.
Image: YouTube/MIT Media Lab
The device will then command the mobile device to make a lot of noise to attract attention. After 20 seconds of no response from the wearer, the mobile device will then send out information to a pre-defined “safety circle” of contacts. This includes the wearer’s geolocation. One of these contacts will then receive a phone call that records all the noises and surrounding conversations being picked up by the microphone.
Image: YouTube/MIT Media Lab
It is hoped that the audio recording can be used in legal proceedings.
Apart from a preventive measure against sexual assault, the technology can also be adopted to protect children, the elderly and disabled from abuse.
Given the need for contact of Project Intrepid, as the researchers call it, the device can be seen as a last line of defense for when other methods of avoiding contact has failed.
Nonetheless, Project Intrepid is a good example of using technology to help keep individuals away from unwarranted harm. JB