Its name is Emma, and it’s no ordinary wristwatch.
Microsoft developer Haiyan Zhang created the watch as part of a BBC documentary series called, The Big Life Fix. The series brought together innovators and inventors and presented them with “big life” challenges that make everyday activities more difficult for people with disabilities. The inventors tried to come up with solutions to the challenges, and one of those solutions became the Emma watch.
Haiyan met Emma Lawton, a 33-year-old Parkinson’s patient and illustrator, as a part of the The Big Life Fix. Emma’s tremors made drawing nearly impossible, which hindered her career trajectory as well as her happiness. As Emma explained what it felt like to try to draw, Haiyan interpreted it as an inner battle that Emma was having. It was as if the more Emma’s hands would tremble, the more she would try to correct the shaking, which would only agitate the symptoms more. Haiyan’s idea was to distract Emma from the trembling, so she added a small vibrating motor to a watch, with the hope that Emma would interpret any trembling as a result of the vibrating watch. If she could focus on the watch, perhaps she would lose the urge to correct the movement of her arm, and the shaking would become less severe.
When Emma tried the watch for the first time she was skeptical of its ability to make much of a difference, but as she continued to draw, she became amazed at the improved functionality, saying: “It’s a bit of a modern-day miracle – someone not being able to write and draw and then being able to do it again. And the watch continues to work. It fills me with joy that it wasn’t just a one-off, a fluke. For now, it has given me control of my career back, and I’m the one who decides how long I want to be a designer for. I don’t think Haiyan realizes how much she has done for me.”
Right now, Emma’s watch is not available commercially, but it is in the works. Haiyan, Emma, and the other developers wish to help anyone with Parkinson’s who might benefit from the watch. “I’m trying to figure out a way to move this forward, because I’ve got hundreds of messages from people who want the device for themselves or their family members,” Haiyan said.
Read more about Haiyan, Emma, and the watch here.
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