Paeng Min-wook, a South Korean industrial designer, came up with a solution in a problem often encountered by “smartphone zombies,” people who can’t get their eyes off their smartphone screen.
With Min-wook’s creation of “Third Eye,” a robotic eyeball that can be attached to a person’s forehead, smartphone zombies would no longer have issues walking around.
Part of the artwork “Phono Sapiens,” the device open can open its eyelid whenever the user’s head has been lowered to look at a mobile phone. Once it detects an obstruction within 2 meters, the eyeball will emit a beeping sound to warn the user of incoming danger.
“This is the look of future mankind with three eyes. As we cannot take our eyes off from smartphones, the extra eye will be needed in the future.”
How does the Third Eye work? Paeng says it uses an ultrasonic sensor to measure the distance between the device and obstacles. In addition, a gyro sensor is used to calculate the oblique angle made from the user’s neck. The two sensors are then linked in an open-source single-board microcontroller which has its own battery pack.
In the future, the South Korean designer plans to develop an application and camera module so that the Third Eye can be linked directly to smartphones. However, Paeng says he doesn’t have any intentions of commercializing this invention.
Source: Reuters