Anzen : Your Friend in the Dark
Anzen is a safety device designed to aid people call for help when they are in danger. Oftentimes, when people are in danger, they can't reach for their phone and call for help and there have been instances when people were unable to use panic buttons as well. This device aims to automatically detect danger by sensing a person's body parameters like temperature and pulse rate, combining it with the knowledge of the person's location and time of day. If the person is in danger, it alerts the person's emergency contact along with their current location.
We are currently working on this project in the Millennium Fellowship (by MCN and UN Academic Impact).
Phase 1: Proof of concept
The world is a very unsafe place.
People get raped, mugged, beat up, abducted etc everyday.
Reading about cases like these makes us as citizens want to be better prepared.
The ability to protect oneself from physical harm is a basic human right that should be accessible widely. Privy to personal experiences of friends and family we are all aware of the precariousness of wanton occurrences in consequence of which we are developing this device.
Core Biological Principles
Anzen offers the unique ability to sense an individual's fear based on these phenomena
Effects of fear on body temperature
When you’re afraid or stressed, the brain releases adrenaline, to the rest of the body. This release then triggers the fight-or-flight response. This is triggered by a protein called TRPV1, which is also responsible for the control of body temperature. TRPV1 provides a sense of scalding heat and pain when there is potential tissue damage due to violent circumstances.
Effects of fear on pulse rate
Fear impacts your heart in three major ways: A quickened heartbeat, an increase in pulse rate and blood pressure, a change in breathing patterns (shortness of breath or rapid breathing). Change in breathing patterns also affects blood oxygen levels significantly.
Anzen or ‘安全’ is a Japanese word which translates to safety or security. Tokyo being the safest city in the world was our main inspiration behind naming this project. Anzen aims at being “Your Friend in the Dark” to keep you safe at all times.
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Phase 2: Product Development
Survey of target audience
From the survey, we saw that about 37% of people opted for stainless steel as the material (22.1%: regular stainless steel, 15.3%: metal plated stainless steel) so this will be used for the band.
The circuitry of our device is placed in a plastic casing, between the metal and the circuitry on the upper end there will be a hard plastic layer to prevent damage. The enclosure for these electronic components is in a surgical grade stainless steel casing. Surgical grade stainless steel is corrosion resistant, safe for the skin due to low carbon content and is most commonly used for body jewelry.
This project has been selected to be a part of the Millennium Fellowship (Class'21)
The Millennium Fellowship is a semester-long leadership development program to take your social impact to the next level. The fellowship is conducted in association with the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and Millennium Campus Network (MCN).