Shoes that help with directions? How about a headband that monitors a user’s heartbeat and plays music to match their mood? These are just some of the neat ideas recently suggested and prototyped by women from Google Business Groups and Google Developer Groups from Colombo in Sri Lanka to Cagayan de Oro in the Philippines.

To coincide with our recent I/O developers’ conference in San Francisco, we held dozens of I/O Extended events across Asia, bringing together hundreds of tech enthusiasts for live streams of I/O, developer demos and hackathons. We challenged women attendees at nine of these events to consider how wearable technology could solve an everyday problem — we called this “Wonderful Wearables”.
[Image] Teams had an hour to develop, prototype, and pitch their wearable concepts. Below are some of their ideas:

Colombo, Sri Lanka: Multiple teams presented wearables that improve women’s safety, including a ring that allows users to make contactless payments so they don’t have to take out cash or credit cards in public places, and a bracelet that alerts users’ loved ones of their location and need for help upon trigger.
Cebu, Philippines: Health risks posed by rising levels of air pollution motivated one team to prototype a pendant that can detect pollutants and alert users if they are in a high-risk area. This concept would help concerned mothers identify safer and healthier places to live.
Zamboanga, Philippines: Instead of identifying a problem, one team spotted an opportunity: why not harness the strength of the strong sun in Zamboanga for something useful? Team SolarCap prototyped a hat that not only protects users from the sun’s harsh rays, but also serves as a solar-powered charger for people on the go.
Want to get involved? Women in Vientiane and Kota Kinabalu can take part in sessions this weekend, so sign up now.

Posted by Lindsay Taub, Google Business Group Women Program Lead