When you think of wearable tech, the most popular gadgets that come to mind are lifestyle-oriented ones. For instance, those that track fitness or monitor your health. Here are three Kenyan wearables that you might find interesting.
Dahabo Abdi Galgalo is the brainchild behind Track and Save, a solar-powered, water resistant GPS integrated device that tracks and provides emergency services to expectant mothers in remote areas of Northern Kenya where health services struggle to reach. The Track and Save device is no bigger than a coin and is worn around the wrist as a bracelet by the mother. Once a distress signal is sent out, Dahabo and her team of doctors will then immediately track the mother's location using the GPS and then deliver life-saving services instantly.
Anthony Mutua is the inventor of the phone charging shoe. Well, technically he hasn't invented an entire shoe, but a charge-holding crystal chip that you can fit into the sole of your shoe. The chip turns the pressure generated on your sole while walking, into electricity. The energy is then stored inside the chip for later use. To charge your phone, an extension cable that plugs into your sole is used.
Path Finder is a pair of smart glasses designed for the blind that helps them manoeuvre around and find the best suitable path of movement. The innovation by the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology is fitted with sensors that detect obstacles along the path of the visually impaired user. The sensors check for obstacles in four areas; a user's direct line of sight, to their left and right sides, as well as toward the ground. A vibration then to alert the user of a potential hazard, be it a table or chair, a flight of stairs or a vehicle.
A lack of funding means that most of our wearable tech still stalls in the prototype phase, sometimes for years. And for the less fortunate innovators, the ideas remain as just that - ideas.
How can young innovators access funding to get their ideas off the ground? Join the conversation on twitter using #KBTechCapital

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Author
Alix Grubel

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