They create a “third eye” so that you can walk without taking your eyes off the phone

A South Korean industrial designer came up with a solution for smombi, cell phone zombies. That is to say, a person unable to take their eyes off the mobile, even while walking in the street.

The creator of the so-called “third eye” is Paeng Min-wook. It is a device with two sensors that are placed on the forehead and serve as a guide while the user keeps their eyes on the screen.

The invention consists of a robotic eyeball which is held on the forehead by an elastic band.

Paeng’s invention uses a gyro sensor to measure the oblique angle of the wearer’s neck and an ultrasonic sensor to calculate the distance between the robotic eye and any obstacle.

Both sensors are connected to an open source single board microcontroller. The entire system is powered by a battery.

The robotic eye mechanism begins its activity whenever the user bow your head, whether in the street or in the office, to look at your mobile. At this time, the ultrasonic sensor is activated, capable of detecting objects two meters away.

Ultrasound is a series of mechanical waves, usually longitudinal, whose frequency is higher than the hearing capacity of the human ear.

Ultrasonic equipment operates with frequencies above 20 kHz although most transducers currently in use operate at much higher frequencies.

If the system interprets that the user is about to collapse against an obstacle, an alarm is triggered which increases in intensity as it approaches the object.

Phono Sapiens

The two sensors are connected to Arduino type board programmed to receive this data and who controls the whole system.

Paeng refers to Phono Sapiens, the new human species born from smartphones, with which today it is very difficult not to cross when setting foot in the street.

For this reason, the designer makes sure that the robotic eye is the “first evolution” of our species.

“Since we cannot take our eyes off smartphones, an extra eye will be needed in the future, ”Paeng told the South China Morning Post.

Paeng said the third eye was meant as a warning, not as a real solution for smartphone junkies who don’t care where they’re headed.

Although for the moment the designer does not intend to commercialize his invention, the reality is that the robotic eye has caught the attention of many curious people.

Of course, for those who are interested in this type of project, at the moment, he is only considering developing a camera-related application.

He acknowledges that this is a “satirical solution” and “I hope which serves to raise awareness of the seriousness of addiction to gadgets, and to look at oneself and recognize the problem “.

With information from Reuters.

SL