14 DAY TRIAL // “Utility” is a word whose meaning can touch on a great many things, and there are some truly unusual situations that have begun to arise now that it's become easy to integrate electronics into clothing. So, without further ado, behold the First Sign Hair Clip.
The name of this invention from First Sign, and which is now up on Indiegogo as a crowd-funding campaign, isn't really all that indicative of its purpose.
Sure, you get that you're reading about a hair clip, but that's it. You don't get any inkling of what is so unusual and important about it.
Fortunately, First Sign was quite thorough in its description of the item, and what it plans for the item if the project gets enough funds.
Which it probably will, now that the press has picked up on the existence of the invention. Safety and security are always good to have.
Basically, the First Sign Hair Clip is fitted with a sensor that will detect impacts. So if you hit your head, others will know.
How does it work? Despite the fact that it measures 12 x 40 x 4 mm / 0.5 x 1.75 x 0.15 inches, it manages to integrated a three-axis accelerometer, gyroscope, and Bluetooth module inside of it.
It will detect impacts to the head and sound an alarm in case of one. It will also send data to a companion smartphone.
Said app will, in turn, send the GPS data, video, and audio gathered through the phone's camera and microphone to a central monitoring service.
Furthermore, emergency contracts are also notified, prompting the phone to automatically dial emergency services for help.
Based on that information, law enforcement or medical services, or both, will be able to quickly make it to the scene and follow the case swiftly, thanks to the gathered evidence.
All the while, a programmed voice will say “help is on the way and evidence collected.” After all, the whole point of the alarm is to blare and curb the actions of hostiles in case you are attacked.
The question remains, then, if the hair clip will distinguish between an attack and a bump on the head. First Sign says that some really advanced algorithms are at play, so the answer to that is “yes.”
Still, false alarms are not impossible, and until the engineers figure out how to iron out the rest of the difficulties, you'll have to live with turning off the alarm yourself if it triggers for no good reason (within 15 seconds). You can do the reverse too: activate the alarm manually by pressing the emergency button.