Chennai students develop bra that shocks those who grope

While we believe 2013 will be the year of the wearables, this was not something we foresaw. Students from the SRM University in Chennai have created a bra that can deliver a 3800kv electric shock to anyone who attempts to molest or grope women.

Several column inches are taken up in newspapers nowadays by reports of sexual crimes against women, especially rape. While the recent rape and death of a 23-year-old Delhi student has caused a great furore, there are several other incidents that occur regularly but are not reported to the authorities, across our massive nation. To combat violence against women, we have seen campaigns for pepper sprays, lessons in physical defense, but SHE, or the Society Harnessing Equipment is a bra, developed by Manisha Mohan, an aeronautical engineering student at SRM University in Chennai is a first.

Shock treatment for the would-be molesters

In addition to delivering a shock, SHE is capable of sending a text message to a relative or friend of the victim and the local police station. The text message contains the GPS coordinates of the victim's location. The developers have fitted SHE with a pressure sensor connected to an electric circuit.

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Now, if you're wondering whether the wearer herself is protected against this shock, Mohan explains that the entire system is in a bi-layer fabric that insulates the wearer.. She goes on to explain, "Also the pressure values for squeeze, pinch and grab have been calibrated. The force applied on hugging does not satisfy the conditions for actuation of the device, and there is also a self-actuation switch where a woman can actuate it by herself when in unsafe environment."

The developers of SHE also won the  Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Award. Interestingly, the report states that the team is looking to make the components smaller.

What is your take on it, ladies? Tell us in the comments section below.