Six female Omani students have created potentially a life-saving wearable technology that prevents sleepy drivers from dozing off.
The device called Snooze or Al Ghafwah is a small light device that can be attached to any type of glasses. It contains a specific sensor that monitors the eye and eyelash movement so once someone feels sleepy the device will alarm them with a sound.
The aim of the device is to try and tackle the problem Oman faces with road accidents.
“When looking at the causes of accidents, exhaustion was the one that really resonated with us. Because there is a large number of people that are exhausted and we tried to solve that problem with this device,” Samia Al Muqbaily, 23, Executive Director at the Insan company, said.
“The sensor sends a wave signal to the eye and if there is no reply, then it rings. The alarm is a loud extended ringtone, but we are planning on developing it so that people can pick their own ringtones.” Samia added.
With eight people involved in the production of the device, each person in charge of their speciality. Insan is a student-run organisation functioning under the Middle East College that was created by Six Omani girls. Insan has also participated in a competition by Injaz, organisations that help support small businesses and also provides them with workshops.
“We have expanded the scope of Al Ghafwa so that it is not confined to driving, it can be used by students when they study or even by nurses.” The creators of the device added.
Insan will hold an exhibition on June 16 and 17 at the Avenues Mall, Muscat to display Al Ghafwah.