The Brave Band

This is a conceptual design project for a safety wearable device for female solo travellers. It is one of the personal design projects I have worked on.

Hypothetically, the device can determine the emotion of the user from their pulse rate. When the user is determined to be panicked, the device calms them through vibrational feedback, while text feedback is displayed on its screen. At the same time, the device tries to distract the attacker by emitting a smell. An attacker is sensed through the heat emitted by their body and the distance between the user and the attacker. When a man approaches the user with the intention of sexual harassment, the fragrance emitted by the device acts as a distractor and, at the same time, as a neutraliser of the attacker's feelings.

All women love adventure, and some love to travel alone and explore new sites, cultures, countries and nature. However much women daydream about travelling alone, there may be an underlying fear of taking risks. Among many challenges women face when travelling, sexual harassment is one of the most dangerous encounters. Apart from this, the loneliness of having no one to take care of them can make the trip less enjoyable than expected. So, how can we find a solution to keep ourselves safe, and how can we cheer ourselves up during solo travel?

Users: Women who are passionate about solo travelling but fear travelling alone.

In Sri Lankan culture, people use a talisman (“suraya”) to protect themselves from evil and danger. It is a wearable pendant-like object, worn as a necklace, tied on the arm or tied around the waist with a string.

In certain scriptures, aromas were also used to regulate and change people's emotions.

Modern solo travellers almost always wear a fitness tracker, so I thought: what if I merged the fitness tracker with my inspirations?

• Conduct thorough research and a feasibility study.
• Develop prototypes and design the relevant hardware.
• Test the product with a user group and develop it further.