Protection from UV radiation using intelligent wearable sensors

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is electromagnetic radiation in the wavelength range from 100 nm to 380 nm (definition according to DIN 5031). It is invisible to humans, but potentially harmful to health. An internationally recognized measure of the harmful effect is the UV index, which indicates the exposure by means of an upward open scale (http://www.uv-index.at/).

The goal in this project was to develop a wearable demonstrator for the measurement of UV radiation.

The demonstrator contains a UV sensor and ae data read out via a Bluetooth allowing display of the data on a mobile unit namely a smartphone. A dedicated app evaluates the data, calculates the current radiation exposure and displays the measurement results graphically.

The innovation of this project was to integrate all functionality in a wearable device demanding smallest possible size, lowest possible power and thus battery consumption and cost-effective production. The use of the energy-saving BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) communication protocol was also essential.

** This project is funded by the FFG as part of an innovation check.