Stop Face Touching Device
By Chen Lu
I built a device to stop touching my face.
Type: Artistic, Education
Website: https://youtu.be/HtR9yXh_85Y
What inspired you or what is the idea that got you started?
During the early pandemic, health officials suggest not touching the face in case viruses are transmitted that way. But there are so many of them who couldn't help themselves, even while suggesting this to people at public events. So what if there is a device to change this behavior that we are so used to?
What is your project about and how does it work?
This is a wearable device that monitors when a finger touches the wearer's face by 4 IR sensors, when it detects a finger moving close, it triggers a mechanism to hit the wearer's forehead, as negative feedback. There's also a built-in counter display to show efficiency in the long term. The sensors and motor are connected to an Arduino and powered by a power bank.
What did you learn by doing this project?
This was also a fun what-if idea, the process was fun and I've learned so much about mechanical design and sensors. I also put extra effort, into thinking about how it can be worn by everyone instead of just myself, with an adjustable mechanism. The IR sensor works well, detecting fingers, even at times finicky, but a funnier discovery is that it conflicts with IPhone's faceID, which is also using IR technology. From a behavioral perspective, it is quite hard to change people, even with this kind of device.
