A UF alumnus and his four business partners want to help women stay safe when going out.
After hearing the statistic that one in four college females will be sexually assaulted by the time they enter their senior year, Aaron Whittemore, 33, and his four partners at Harvard Business School designed Onee, a bracelet that women can wear to help them keep track of their friends.
The bracelet, which costs $95, connects to a partner via the Onee app. The Onee company will begin distributing the bracelets in spring 2017, said Whittemore, a now-second-year Harvard Business School student who graduated from UF with a masters degree in electrical engineering in 2007.
“One short vibration and your friend is just checking to see if you’re OK,” he said. “Multiple pulsing vibrations, and your friend is in a state of distress.”
The bracelets can be synced once two people connect over the app, and then the location of each person becomes available.
As long as users are within 30 feet of their phones with Bluetooth connection, they can send vibrations to their buddies’ bracelets — even from across the globe.
Andie Waldman, 20, said the bracelet should be on every girl’s wrist at Midtown.
“Everyone should have one of these when they come out,” the UF psychology junior said. “Sexual assault happens way too often, and this will help save a lot of girls.”
