Silent Signal - A Wearable Alarm System for Deaf Individuals

I undertook this project after observing frequent safety risks in my environment. Growing up in a deaf community inspired me to create a solution that supports people I care about, especially my family and friends. I wanted to prevent situations where my deaf parents might be unaware of a danger in our home and face unnecessary risks. I believe that individuals who are deaf or deaf-blind could benefit from my alarm bracelet, making safety more accessible for everyone.

I conducted online background research using credible sources (peer reviewed) and drew on information from past learning. For example, knowing that my parents use a specific type of alarm to wake them in the morning and knowing that there is a fire alarm setting, I can take that information to learn how effective alternative alarms are and what could be improved. I tested my prototype in dark (“quiet”) and bright (“loud”) environments. I did this because if a fire alarm went off, the resistor would “hear” it. I did more research to discover what would be more effective: a sound-dependent resistor, a light-dependent resistor, or a frequency transmitter. I also followed a website that taught me how to install an LDR into the breadboard.

The photo above shows a prototype from the website, https://www.instructables.com/Cover-It-Timer-With-Vibrating-Alarm-TfCD/.

The overall result of my project is that the bracelet is cost-effective and is overall successful. My prototype uses an LDR and counts down from nine. When the timer hits three, the LDR checks for light, and if there is light, the traditional fire alarm "is going off". When it is dark, the LDR senses that there “isn’t any alarm going off”. In a real-life situation, I would use a frequency transmitter or a built-in fire alarm. It would be better to use a frequency transmitter because it can detect a fire alarm signal from a location farther away, even if the smoke hasn’t reached the detector yet.

The results of my project confirm that the bracelet is best for daytime use in case of emergencies, but can also be used at night if the vibrations are strong enough.

Currently, there are alternatives that already exist, like strobe lights and bed shakers. However, these technologies do not work for everybody at all times. Strobe lights are efficient for public buildings, but can cause seizures. Bed or pillow shakers are effective for nighttime use, but do not help the user in their daily travels. Silent Signal is the solution for alerting all people of fire emergencies both day and night.

To improve Silent Signal, the vibrations could be stronger to wake up individuals in the night, or the device could be Bluetooth compatible to a cellular device, or even the fire alarm itself. The bluetooth compatibility would be useful because if in a case where a frequency transmitter is unreliable, the bluetooth can sub in. Further work on this project could make it reliable for everyone with watch bands that don’t cause skin irritation and are light enough for people to sign and communicate throughout the day.

The photo above is an example of making a smartwatch version.

Thanks to:

Mr. Jacobsen, who helped me put together my Breadboard and teach me how Arduino works.

Ms. Spiropolous, who supported me throughout the project with my write-up and ideas on how to improve, and was my mentor.

Grade 10 Tech Class, who taught me new things like how to solder metal, wire programs, and more.

This project would have been impossible without you!

Harkins, J., Tucker, P. E., Williams, N., & Sauro, J. (2010). Vibration signaling in mobile devices for emergency alerting: A study with deaf evaluators. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 15(4), 438–445. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enq018

Conley, K., et al. (2019). Vibration alert bracelet for notification of the visually and hearing impaired. Journal of Open Hardware, 3(1). https://ojs.lib.uwo.ca/index.php/openhardware/article/view/17838

Conley, K., et al. (2019). Vibration alert bracelet for notification of the visually and hearing impaired. Journal of Open Hardware, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.5334/joh.17

McGill University – Research and Innovation. (2020, August 12). Device which delivers multiple, non-auditory information alerts to a user. https://www.mcgill.ca/research/channels/news/device-which-delivers-multiple-non-auditory-information-alerts-user-323649

Fire Protection Research Foundation. (2021). Review of alarm technologies for deaf and hard of hearing populations. National Fire Protection Association. https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/research/fire-protection-research-foundation/projects-and-reports/review-of-alarm-technologies-for-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-populations

Fire Protection Research Foundation. (2021). Review of alarm technologies and their effectiveness to wake deaf and hard of hearing populations while sleeping. National Fire Protection Association.