Touching your face is linked to increased infection rates/spread of disease, and a number of common body-focused repetitive behaviors involve the face: nail-biting, hair pulling. A 2015 study found that college students touch their faces 23 times per hour on average. The practice is unhygienic and can lead to the spread of diseases and ulcerations.
Our product seeks to reduce the number of times a person touches their face per hour by associating face-touching with tactile feedback. It consists of two parts: an infrared/ultrasound bracelet transmitter, and an infrared necklace receiver. When a user moves their hand close to their face, both the IR receiver and proximity sensor will go off, triggering the vibration motor and signaling the user to avoid the action. Our goal is for the user to associate the bracelet buzz with the urge to touch their face or bite their nails, reducing that frequency. A 2007 study found that non-nail-biting decreased your e. Coli risk by 66%.
In future iterations, we plan to add a heart-rate sensor for pulse detection as well as hand detection, to disable the device while eating, brushing teeth, etc. The overall goal is to develop a user-friendly device that can help you manage nervous ticks and reduce direct-contact disease transmission.
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