Vive helps band together friends to avoid social dangers

Most students have things in common; they study and work hard and they like to party hard in their free time. This often means consuming alcohol and it can lead to social dangers. Now a group of students from the University of Washington have come up with a great idea on how to reduce potential social dangers, such as becoming separated from a group who have gone out partying. Students always carry technology with them, particularly mobile phones, and this along with a bracelet called Vive can be used together.

[Image Source: Behance]

The Vive has become winner of the Microsoft Research Faculty Summit Design Expo 2014 for the Best Product Concept. The project was designed by young people and is aimed for young people. It came about through discussions with the Sexual Assault and Relationship Violence Activists. The project relies on the assumption that one of the biggest contributors to assaults among college students is the consumption of alcohol. The team then put their heads together and came up with a way to stop social situations that could arise due to alcohol; however they didn’t want to establish restraints that could stop people enjoying themselves. Vive was the result.

[Image Source: Behance]

The project consists of a bracelet or band that is fitted with a transdermal alcohol sensor and monitor that can tell if a person is dehydrated. It also has a gyroscope and accelerometer that can sense changes in the stability and balance of the wearer. One of the main differences between the Vive and other similar wearables, is that this one doesn’t need a button to be pressed to call for help.

[Image Source: Behance]

The group said that Bluetooth could be used to pair a phone with the technology and other bands worn by other people in your group. Connected phones using Wi-Fi and GPS triangulation could help when it comes to letting friends know the location of others in the group in the event that an alert was to arise. This could be for example that a person is becoming dehydrated or they have drunk too much alcohol and they have reached levels that are dangerous.

[Image Source: Behance]

It was suggested that the bands could be connected by tapping them together to create a connection wirelessly. The plan for the Vive bracelet is that it would prompt those wearing it to check in with others by vibrations of the bracelet, for example, clasping hold of the bracelet for a brief period would vibrate other bracelets in the group to let everyone know that everyone in the group is safe. Should a person not respond within a certain amount of time then the friends would be alerted.

[Image Source: Behance]

The group hope to get the Vive onto the commercial market and would launch it at any event where alcohol was being served and where students already accept wristbands, including music festivals.

[Image Source: Behance]

There's no details on any fruition, but the concept tackles some dangerous events that technology hasn't covered yet.