Pulse: The Anti-Covid Necklace From NASA
NASA researchers are creating a necklace that helps wearers not to touch their faces, as an anti-covid measure: the project is accessible to everyone.
Among the various anti-covid measures, the hardest to follow seems to be not to touch your face. According to a study published a few months ago on Pubmed.gov, we put our hands to our faces up to 23 times in an hour: to rub our eyes, nail bite, nose scratch.
HANDS OFF.
The more we focus on not doing this myriad of gestures, the harder it gets. To help us in the arduous task of keeping our hands together, researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena have developed PULSE, a necklace that vibrates whenever it intercepts an inappropriate movement of the wearer’s hands.
DIY TECH.
The movement is intercepted by an infrared proximity sensor: when the hands get close to the necklace, the sensor activates a small motor that makes the pendant vibrate, thus warning of the incautious gesture. The necklace is not for sale: all you need to make it is a 3D printer and some simple electronic components that you can buy online. That’s because NASA/JPL researchers have published the blueprint for building PULSE on GitHub, making it accessible to everyone.
According to the researchers, PULSE, together with other anti-covid hygiene measures such as frequent hand washing and social distancing, can offer practical help in the fight against the spread of the virus.
