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Innovation

UNICEF, ARM team up foster development of 'Wearables for Good'

"A wearable built to address social good would ultimately need to follow a systemic, communitarian approach," according to UNICEF.
Written by Rachel King, Contributor

ARM and UNICEF have joined forces to develop the untapped potential that wearable technology could offer to children in need worldwide.

The chip maker and the global humanitarian organization have forged a multi-year pact promising to develop connected solutions for improving basic health, education and support services.

That partnership is taking shape in a new challenge dubbed "Wearables for Good," launching this week and fostering the rapid development for Internet-connected products answering maternal and child health needs in emerging markets.

Aside from free-thinking creativity and innovation, some of the overall more technical criteria stipulated devices must be run off a battery with a long life (and low-power consumption rates), be cost-effective with a demonstrated business use case, and easy to mass produce for scalable deployments.

On a design front, entries should be rugged -- meaning waterproof, shockproof, heat-resistant and generally build to withstand harsh climates and last.

"A wearable built to address social good would ultimately need to follow a systemic, communitarian approach," according to a summary on UNICEF's website.

Open to everyone from computer scientists and developers to executives and general do-gooders, the challenge is open online to applicants now and set to run for the next six months.

Later this year, two entries will be designated as winners, each receiving $15,000 funding along with incubation and mentoring from ARM and creative consultancy firm Frog.

For a closer look at the Wearables for Good challenge, check out the promo clip below.

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