Student designs global warning monitor

Built Environment industrial design student Fiona Lee is concerned global warming will increasingly expose people working in the sun to dangerous levels of gas, fumes, dust and ultra violet rays.

So for her final year project she designed a small clip-on device that can warn workers when they have been exposed to the shift limit for gases, dust, fumes, vibrations, ultra-violet rays and heat.

Fiona calls her device the Guard Danger Zone Indicator. It also has a log system to keep track of each entry so people will know how much gas etc they are exposed to over a certain period.

“I think we will need to monitor our exposure more closely in the years ahead as global warming increases,” Fiona said.

“Until now such devices have been rather cumbersome and limited to specialists in certain fields who know they will be  exposed to environmental dangers. The Guard is small enough to fit in the hand and be used by all level of workers.”

She estimates it will cost about $220. Gas sensor will add another $180 to the unit.

Fiona’s Guard monitoring device was a part of the LuminoCITY exhibition.

Media contact: Frank Walker, UNSW Media Office, 0417 090 346, f.walker@unsw.edu.au