How does the idea of immediately being able to tell when someone is attracted to you sound? Awesome, right?
Well, that’s what four London-based designers thought when they came up with the idea of creating a wearable device that will help people know when they’re being flirted with. The idea was born from their worry that flirting might become a thing of the past pretty soon considering how much time people spend on their phones instead of exchanging eye contact with potential romantic partners.
The prototype device, Ripple comes in form of several feather-like protuberances that can be slung over the shoulders, giving the wearer the impression of having gigantic colourful shoulder pads on.
Ripple tells its wearer they are being admired by sending a sensation that comes in form of a ripple up their back, causing them to look up and determine where the intense gaze is coming from. When the device detects they are looking at the person who was checking them out, they’ll receive a tap on the chest to confirm. And if they keep looking, Ripple will keep rippling.
The project, by four designers on the Innovation Design Engineering joint double masters course at Imperial College and The Royal College of Art, both in London, just might be the answer to the resurrection of actual face-to-face flirtation, as opposed to constantly gazing at phone screens, a habit which many youths have formed in the last few years.
Although, given the rather bright colours that make up Ripple, it might become confusing to tell when one is actually being stared at romantically or just plain bizarrely.
Check out the video below to see how it works.