Wristband from e-waste to track carbon footprint

  • 20/10/2015

  • Times Of India (New Delhi)

Whatever happened to your old Windows 2000 desktop computer? Are you still hanging on to mobile phone handsets of the past? And what about the monolithic printer you chucked out in a zen-inspired fury? Well, you might soon be wearing them on your wrist, if a new tracker concept made entirely from recycled electronics finds enough interest to get off the ground. London designer Benjamin Hubert's device, which was recently unveiled at this year's London Design Festival, is not just a guilt-easing accessory. The new 5p bag plastic bag levy that hit supermarkets nationwide might be a small step to "greening up" our expenditure, but the new wearable concept is set to be a giant leap in exposing the ugly truth of your personal carbon consumption. Although still at a conceptual stage, the WorldBeing wristband plans to track a wearer's carbon usage by connecting a variety of data sources to create individual maps of consumption, based on items purchased and food eaten, to modes of transport taken and energy used in the wearers' home. Checking into the app each morning will provide you with instant visual feedback on your daily carbon footprint using cloud-shaped graphics that change colour and size to indicate good and bad consumption. The wristband app plans to offer rewards, including badges and discounts at local businesses, whilst also encouraging you to better your individual green "score" by pitting you against other users. The downside? Just one: insufferable carbon footprint bragging -inevitably coming soon to a social media platform near you. The wearable tech company also wants to create sensors you can swallow, and that can even be placed directly into your bloodstream.