Mexico students develop electric shock self-defence coat
7 replies, posted
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-45207567
Four students in Mexico have developed a jacket they say could protect those wearing it from attacks. Once armed, the sleeves of the coat can emit an electric shock making anyone
holding on to them recoil. The students say they came up with the idea in light of the high number of sex attacks in their city.
They say the electric shock is low enough for the coat not to be classed as a weapon but strong enough to startle any potential attacker. The prototype, called Woman Wearable, was
developed by mechatronics engineering students Anaid Parra Quiroz and Esthela Gómez, robotics student Giwan Park and law student Guadalupe Martínez.
The four study at the Puebla campus of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education and came up with the idea as part of a class in entrepreneurship.
"We'd heard from lots of female friends and acquaintances who had suffered some sort of aggression. After doing some research into gender violence we came up with the idea and
then took it from there," Anaid Parra Quiroz told news agency Conacyt (in Spanish).
Official figures suggest three sexual attacks are reported daily in the state of Puebla.
The students bought a cotton track suit jacket and inserted into its lining a 9V battery, a transformer, cables which they wrapped so the wearer of the jacket would not be exposed to
any current, an on-off button and an LED light.
Robotics student Giwan Park designed the circuit. He explains that the system is activated by the button with the LED light coming on to show it is ready. Once the system is thus
armed, if someone touches the electrodes on the coat's sleeves, the circuit is closed and an electric shock is delivered to the person touching the electrodes.
The idea is to stun the aggressor, giving the wearer of the jacket time to run away or raise the alarm.
Law student Guadalupe Martínez joined Woman Wearable to make sure it would not fall foul of the law. "It's a self-defence tool," the student said. She says that the electric shock
administered by the coat is low enough not to pose a threat to life and therefore the jacket does not qualify as a weapon.
The prototype took the team three months to develop and make. The students say that they would like to further develop it to include sensors and to put the electrodes on more than
just the sleeves.
They say that eventually the design could be adapted for other garments such as blouses, skirts and trousers. The students say they would sell their jacket at around $50 (£40).
Putting a price on something like this could raise a moral red flag for some people but, even so, their 'creativity' can't be faulted. Good for y'all.
In other news: rubber gloves and other insulating apparel has received a heavy price markup for unknown reasons. Mas esta noche.
what happens if you accidentally rub against someone in a crowd
Cost of manufacturing + labor? In an already poor country? It's not at all unreasonable for them to charge.
Oh yeah I agree, I'm just pointing out how quite a few people would probably argue otherwise.
You need to arm it first.
they also need to touch you from both sides, as the circuit is from one arm to the other. The biggest risk is leaving it armed and a friend hugs you lmao
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