It’s summer and it’s hot these days! Jumping in a cool lake and relaxing in the sun is probably the best idea – but you know what they say: don’t stay in the sun too long it’s dangerous. Sun bathing is a real concern as increasing numbers of skin cancer among our population show the risks of too much UV rays. At the same time sunlight in the right doses is healthy as it helps our body to produce vitamin D.
Sure, some of us will now say “Ah what’s all the panic about… I want to get tanned!”. Well, even if you don’t really care for the risks it is true that getting a massive sunburn after which your whole skin peels off is not helping you to get darker skin.
How do you know how long you should stay in the sun? Solitair, a little device connected to your smartphone developed by UK based Cambridge Consultants, a product development and technology consulting company, will tell you.
The tiny Solitair Clip (image: Cambridge Consultants)
Solitair is about the size of a key and can be worn as a brooch on your clothes or as a hair-clip. The small sensing device connects to your smartphone via BLE and can be set up via an app. To get accurate time recommendations for being in the sun you start by taking a picture of your skin to give a pre-suntan level of pigment. The Solitair app analyses the image and combines the information with the user’s location, the weather forecast and their schedule for the day to give individual guidance on optimum times in the sun with and without sunscreen with different sun protection factors (SPFs).
The Solitair app on iOS devices (image: Cambridge Consultants)
The sensing device monitors actual sun exposure and gives real-time updates via the smartphone throughout the day – with alerts when the user is nearing the recommended maximum time.
According to Peter Luebcke, head of personal care at Cambridge Consultants the technology is sophisticated enough to give precise recommendations for different locations. A dark-skinned person in Norway for example can stay out longer than a fair-skinned person near the equator.
What ever skin type you are: Have fun in the sun!
Soliatir worn as hair-clip (image: Cambridge Consultants)
