For Dubai student Amelie Lister, one of her biggest concerns is about her grandparents, who live alone in Scotland and South Africa. Keeping them in mind, the 15-year-old has designed a smart wristband for the health and safety of the elderly.
“The smart wristband, which I’ve named EverWell, monitors various health metrics such as heart rate, body temperature, steps taken, and it also detects falls,” Amelie told Khaleej Times, adding: “It has an OLED screen to display the collected data and uses radio alerts to send emergency SOS signals if a fall or high temperature is detected. The signals can be sent to first responders as well as family members.”
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Designed as part of her Digital Design project, Amelie said she spent weeks perfecting the design. “The process involved research, inquiry, prototyping, testing, and iterating on the design based on feedback,” she said. “Some of the biggest challenges included ensuring the accuracy of health metrics, integrating various sensors and readings, and balancing functionality with comfort. These challenges were overcome through persistent testing, debugging and refining the design.”
Guiding her through the entire process was her teacher Huma Deshmukh, who teaches AI at Bloom World Academy. “All we had to do was provide her with the right guidance on research methodologies, design principles, and technical aspects of the project,” she said. “We regularly discussed her progress and debugged the code together. The teachers at BWA were her first test audience.”
‘Making them proud’
Amelie said her grandparents are extremely proud of her work. “[They] are very excited and proud to hear about wristband and it’s benefits,” she said. “I will carry the prototype with me during the summers to help them try it on and get their feedback. I am sure that this will motivate my grandparents to be more physically active and give peace of mind to our family as we can monitor their health even from the UAE.”
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 700,000 people die from falls annually and adults over the age of 60 suffer the greatest number of fatal falls.
Amelie said she now has plans to perfect the band. “I plan to refine the design to make it more comfortable and aesthetically appealing,” she said. “I aim to add more advanced sensors like blood glucose level detector for comprehensive health monitoring. I also plan to test it on a larger user base to refine the product further.”
Inspiring other students
According to Huma, Amelie’s project has had a significant impact on her peers. “It has inspired other students to think creatively and consider how technology can be used to solve real-world problems,” she said. “Her dedication and innovative approach have set a benchmark for her classmates, encouraging them to pursue their own projects with similar enthusiasm.”
She said the project showed other students that it was important to address real world problems. “Her approach encourages her peers to use technology not just for the sake of innovation, but to create solutions that have a positive impact on people’s lives,” she said. “Amelie’s invention demonstrates the power of combining empathy with technology.”