Katia Vega has a good thing going with her Beauty Technology Project, where she’s creating cosmetically-based electronics that can interact with a bevy of gadgets. She’s already created metallized false eyelashes, which can be used to activate a broad roster of electronic devices.
Her latest creation is called “Winkymote,” and it’s an infrared remote control application hidden in makeup that can be applied to the faces of quadriplegics to allow them to change TV channels simply by blinking.
To create this unique form of wearable technology, Vega worked with Clio, an Arduino-based microcontroller from Seeed Studio. Testing out the technology was Felipe, an ex-jiu-jitsu player who was injured 13 years ago during a training session.
Felipe uses a speech recognition system keyboard replacement to control his computer, but must depend on nurses for help when it comes to all other tasks. When outfitted with Vega’s makeup, though, he’s able to gain a little more independence, as it allows him to use his body as an input device, and turn the TV on and off with left and right blinks.
Vega notes that the makeup, which she refers to as “Empowder” (that is the actual makeup, the aforementioned “Winkymote” is the application / program), is colored in such a way so as to closely resemble human skin and conceal the technology as much as possible.
Story via: katiavega.com
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