Stepan Zots, 15, who moved to Munich since the full-scale invasion began, is developing a bracelet for the hearing-impaired. The device is designed to detect an air raid siren and then alert the user with strong vibrations and light signals.
Stepan Zots, 15, who moved to Munich since the full-scale invasion began, is developing a bracelet for the hearing-impaired. The device is designed to detect an air raid siren and then alert the user with strong vibrations and light signals.
This was reported by the German publication Merkur.de. The boy was worried that his grandparents, who still live near the front line, would not hear the sirens and would learn about the danger later than others. A siren that you cannot hear cannot save you. In Ukraine, air raid sirens are the line between shelter and danger. But for the approximately 36,000+ deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens of the country, these warnings remain silent,» the teenager emphasizes. He also explains that the available notification methods often rely on smartphones and apps that the boy’s grandmother does not use, as well as on electricity and the Internet, which can disappear during power outages.
Stepan Zots now has a plastic prototype of the bracelet. His next task is to make the bracelet waterproof and technically reliable. He also plans to add an SOS button that will transmit the owner’s location to rescuers.
The teenager developed his idea as part of the Ukraine Invention Convention, a Ukrainian program for young inventors, implemented in collaboration with the Connecticut Invention Convention. Over 14 online sessions, participants learned how to develop solutions, work with CAD and 3D modeling, and prepare and present pitches for their projects.
In the US, Stepan Zots presented the bracelet to the jury and received the Global Prize from Dassault Systèmes, an international company that creates 3D design software. According to the Ukraine Invention Convention, Ukrainian participants won three out of five top awards in total, competing with more than 50,000 participants from around the world. Media Center Ukraine reports that the bracelet will cost about $30. «If the bracelet helps at least one person, all this work will be worth it,» the guy says.
