UNICEF has partnered with ARM, a smartphone chip manufacturer, and Frog, a design firm, to launch the Wearables for Good challenge. This challenge hopes to identify new uses for wearable devices that could help save the lives of individuals in underdeveloped countries.

Devices such as the Apple Watch and Fitbit are among the most popular wearable devices now. You have access to information that most need a smartphone or computer to access. The Wearables for Good challenge hopes to harness this same power of technology.

For an individual to receive a wearable device, it is encouraged to own a smartphone that can be paired with the device. But this is not necessary because the challenge is also looking for unused or old smartphones to be donated.

The Wearables for Good challenge hopes to inspire design and technology experts to develop wearables that could be used to improve the health in underdeveloped countries. UNICEF hopes the project will encourage entrepreneurs to recycle fitness trackers that are no longer in use in order to repurpose them into devices that can help individuals avoid death, disease and disaster in underdeveloped regions.

Not only will the devices help the health of those in underdeveloped regions, but the challenge will also recycle electronics that are out-of-date or unused by companies. Specifically, the challenge is seeking devices that can:

• Alert individuals of disasters
• Officially register children located in remote regions
• Provide tools to help mothers and children access basic health care and nutrition
• Serve as non-clinical diagnostic tools to examine infections

Such devices include items like bracelets or headgear and implantable devices like pacemakers. The challenge may also include remote monitoring devices that can be placed near a person’s body or attached to their clothing.

Erica Kochi, the co-founder of UNICEF Innovation, tells The New York Times, “We’re looking for entries that are scalable and sustainable. We don’t wasn’t something that is a neat idea, there’s no marketplace for it.”

Designers must keep in mind that underdeveloped countries are tricky marketplaces. Geography, resources and culture need to be taken into account to ensure that the developed devices will be useful to the users.

The deadline to submit devices is August 4, 2015. The winning designs will be built and distributed by UNICEF using ARM-based hardware.

This is an ambitious project for UNICEF to take on. But UNICEF has already started taking the necessary steps to ease the project into place. For example, they have begun establishing relationships with the governments where they hope to launch the Wearables for Good device.

In addition to this, UNICEF’s corporate partners have already started implementing the framework for the development stage. The Chief Executive of ARM, Simon Segars, tells the New York Times, “the cost of innovation is the lowest it’s ever been,” making it the perfect time to launch this new device.

– Kerri Szulak

Sources: Digital Trends, iHealthBeat
Photo: Forbes