Smart Bikini With Ultraviolet Sensor Detects Sunscreen Alert to Prevent Sunburn

The country that invented bikini has now come up with a device to hint you when to apply sunscreen. The device comes with a two-piece swimsuit, a small detachable ultraviolet sensor that, through a smartphone or tablet, sends a ‘sun screen alert’ when the user's skin needs more protective sun block cream.

The detector is calibrated to the wearer's skin type and how much of a tan she wants to get. "The idea came to me right away, on a day when I saw someone get sunburnt on a beach," said, the Frenchwoman behind the smart bikinis, Marie Spinali.

"There are flowerpots that give an alert when plants need watering, so I thought it was time to invent something to warn when the sun is too strong," she said. "It's not a gimmick," she added, explaining that often when people think to add more suncream, it's too late and they already have sunburn.

An expert, Doctor Claudine Blanchet-Bardon of France's National Association of Dermatologists, said the device was "interesting, because anything that warns people against UV exposure is good".

Spinali said that her team was working with French researchers in nanotechnology to come up with a smaller UV sensor that would be part of the bikini itself. Also, they were at work on models for men and for children – with the sensors for the latter also featuring GPS locators, to quickly find kids on the beach.

Source-Medindia