14 DAY TRIAL // Two New York-based designers have launched a collection of devices that can prove quite useful for street protesters, as a way to balance the odds against the high-tech government and police forces.
Their invention, called the Backlash Kit, was launched in October and comes with a series of wearable gadgets that can be used to fight against some of the high-tech arsenal deployed by police forces during protests.
The kit consists of a bandana, a bracelet, a portable router, a portable hard drive, a communications jammer, a stencil, and spray paint. But these are not your ordinary day-to-day objects.
The bandana is painted with a computer-generated pattern inspired by the traditional kaffiyeh, which, depending on the way it's folded, can transmit different messages.
A vibrating panic button that you can wear on your arm
The bracelet is equipped with a vibrator, which can be activated to signal warnings to nearby rioters. It can be turned on to let everyone know when a protest becomes violent, and will automatically start vibrating for all protesters that get near a danger zone. It's basically a panic button worn on your hand.
The portable router can be worn on a chain or carried inside pockets, and allows protesters to connect to offline mesh networks (which eventually find a way to connect online) when local public Internet connections are shut down by authorities.
The portable hard drive can be used as a personal black box and also to store and hide photos or videos from phones, in case authorities start seizing smartphones.
A custom communications jammer to defeat stingrays
The jammer can be used in situations where local authorities employ stingrays or similar devices to collect data about protesters using their smartphones. The jammer can be activated and then used to mask any incoming signals, but it allows attackers to make calls from their phones.
The stencil and spray paint are low-tech tools that can be used to leave small marks on buildings and fences. Depending on each protest, these signs can be interpreted as free WiFi spots, dangerous locations, or safe havens where people can rest.
For now, the Backlash Kit is only a proof of concept, and the two designers made it as part of their Masters thesis at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University. The idea is brilliant, and it won't probably take long before a copycat launches a Kickstarter project.
