The issue of security of women is at the centrestage and yet, every other day one hears of incidents of sexual harassment, molestation, rapes and other crimes against women in the Capital.
Concerned with this very sad state of affairs, a group of five engineering students developed a jewellery device called Safer to make the city “safer” for women. The device can be used to trigger alarm and send signals to pre-identified phone numbers, police as well as nearby users in case of emergency.
Designed in the shape of a pendant with a rust-proof and non-corrosive metal casing, Safer also has a fashionable coloured stone that has the safety mechanism below it. The device will be linked to a wearer’s mobile using an application and in case of emergency, a double click on the device will send an alert to the registered numbers of the user’s guardians or friends, to the nearest PCR and the people in the vicinity using the same application. The recipients will able to track the user’s location using GPS.
Developed by four students of Delhi Technological University (DTU) and a student of IIT Delhi, the device is priced at `3,500 and will be available on sale by end of this month.
The people behind this innovative as well as fashionable device are Avinash Bansal, Chiraag Kapil, Ayush Banka, Manik Mehta and Paras Batra. It has already brought the group awards at various national and international business and technology competitions.
Talking about the intention behind creating this device, Manik Mehta of DTU said, “The incidents of crime against women have been on the rise. Safety gadgets, pepper spray and other such things are available in the market, but how feasible are theyIJ If a girl is being attacked by a person, how much time she gets to fetch the spray or any device from her bag and use it.”
The team behind the device also searched for other high-end devices available in the market but found out that they all are costly and unaffordable for a large section of girls who are at the receiving end of eve-teasing and such attacks. So, they decided to create something which is not only practically feasible, but also affordable.
“It has been designed to operate even without Internet or mobile networks. The wearer can choose a guardian who can be contacted at the time of distress or emergency,” Mehta added. The device is also water-resistant and will be available with three options for the stones — onyx black, sapphire blue and emerald green.
“We wanted the device to be stylish which the women can confidently sport with different dresses. So far, it will only be available as a pendant. But in future, we plan to develop bracelets and rings as well,” said Paras Batra.
Batra added that if the device is stolen, it will not work without the phone that is paired with it. “If you find your Safer has been stolen, simply mark your device as lost in the app. We will track its location and may even be able to help you get it back,” he said, adding that the device is in its final testing phase before being finally launched in the market.
“We have circulated around 50 devices for testing purposes and are getting feedback on how well is it working. We have a back up of 1,000 devices for now. We will develop more once the first phase receives good response from users,” he added.