New wristband monitors sun exposure

An Edinburgh Napier University graduate has created a UV light-monitoring wristband that can help ensure people receive enough sunlight.

After conducting a survey revealing that 50 per cent of children surveyed spent less than two hours per day outside, and that the majority of their time was spent on computers or games consoles, Napier’s Andrew O’Dowd developed The SunPoints wristband for his PhD in Interaction Design.

Mr O’Dowd told The Journal: “There is an increase of sunlight deficiency related diseases amongst children and young people. By creating an element to gaming which requires them to spend time outside I think there is an opportunity to stop this rise in unnecessary illness.”

The SunPoints wristband connects to a computer, where data is uploaded about the wearer’s sunlight exposure. Currently, the data corresponds with the SunPoints games program.

“The wristband works through a sensor which detects good UV light. When plugged into a computer it translates the amount of UV the wearer has been exposed to into SunPoints. These points reward the user with bonus content and online content,” said Mr O'Dowd.

Ample levels of UV light exposure are important to the production of Vitamin D, which cannot be sufficiently absorbed through food. The wristband is designed to send off a signal to the wearer once they have achieved the optimum amount of UV-exposure. Too much UV-light exposure can result in skin cancer, cataracts, and immune suppression.

In 2008, about 2,260 people died from skin cancer in the UK. In order to reach children and gain popularity, Mr O’Dowd hopes to create a Facebook for his wristband. The SunPoints wristband could correspond with a Facebook application to address the wider health issue of sun deficiency in the United Kingdom.

Mr O’Dowd explained: “The inspiration came from an investigation into how we interact with technology and how this interaction could and should have more value and be more beneficial.

“Looking at how we interact with one another these days, Facebook is increasingly important. With a Facebook application, users could compare and compete with each other through rewards and points. This, I believe, could only serve to increase peoples desire to use the product and in turn encourage them to get enough healthy sunlight.”

The wristband has received wide media attention, and is in the early stages of a prototype model.

Mr O'Dowd said: “My hope is to release this product to market. I think there is a real issue here and believe my product can be of real benefit.”