Robotic ‘Third Eye’ Lets You Walk Safely While Looking At Your Phone
Published
It’s generally good to watch where you’re going while out walking around, but if you’re someone who just can’t resist a glance at your phone – or a full scrolling session – then this industrial design student’s third eye is for you.
Created as part of his Innovation Design Engineering degree at London’s Royal College of Art and Imperial College, student Minwook Paeng came up with the impressive piece of tech to help out all the ‘phono-sapiens’ out there.
With so much of our lives now wrapped up in our phones, Paeng’s ‘third eye’ offers a solution to issues that can present themselves as we walk around with our heads down, taking in everything on the screen.
Check it out below:
As seen in the video, the robotic eye attaches to the forehead and comes with an eyelid that can open and close depending on whether the walker is looking up or distracted by something going on in the virtual world. With the help of an ultrasonic sensor, the eye can then alert the user if they’re in danger of bumping into something.
Speaking to Dezeen, Paeng explained, ‘The black component that looks like a pupil is an ultrasonic sensor for sensing distance. When an obstacle is in front of the user, the ultrasonic sensor detects this and informs the user via a connected buzzer.’
While it might seem simple to just not look at your phone while walking, the designer believes unhealthy phone habits are an ‘inevitable reality’. Through his creation, he hopes to highlight the issues with these habits and help people take time for ‘self-reflection’ when it comes to our phone usage.
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Topics: Technology, Now, phone, Robotics, smartphone
