A wearables for the developing world is from the collaboration of ARM and Unicef. The organizations aim to come up with a device which will possibly saves life. The organizations will hold a design contest for this particular effort.
The main objective of ARM a British chip designer and the United Nations Children’s Fund or UNICEF partnership is to develop technologies for people living in some of the poorest and more remote regions of the world. As the organization announces its partnership they are also inviting designers to create a new wearable devices especially for the people living in the developing countries. The contest is called “Wearables for Good” the fist endeavor of the two organizations partnership.
In an event held at the New York Academy of Sciences, Erica Kochi, a head of Unicef Innovation, said that, “The intent is to come up with wearables that are “not just nice to have, but that people need to have.”
WHAT UNICEF HOPES FOR
There is Unicef Innovation that primarily work on technologies to advance Unicef’s work with women and children, and the group is hopeful that the designers participant of the contest will emanate wearables which can:
- Alert people of fires
- Diagnose health needs
- Encourage behavioral changes such but not limited to washing hands
- Track data in real time like the vitals of a mother and her fetus
- Wearables that can be used in refugee camps or remote areas
THE CONTEST
Two winners will emerge from the contest which will take place in November. Each winner will receive a cash worth $15,000 and mentorship from ARM and the design firm Frog.
Aside from the design contest, the British Chip Designer offers considerable million of dollars in funding and its technological know-how and connections to the broader tech world to help Unicef fast-track some of its pilot technology projects.
Pertaining to the contest wherein the developing countries will be the main benefactor, ARM CEO Simon Segars said in an interview that “It feels to me like the pace of innovation has increased, the cost of innovation has come down and we are in a world where people want to partner,” he added that, “So if some good comes from this, then that will be great.”