19 months ago
ORONO (NEWS CENTER) -- Every day we pass by dozens of people and simply nod our heads, smile or don't acknowledge them. But these people could have the same interests as us, and could become our friends. Some University of Maine students have designed a device to help us determine that. It's called the Friend Finder. The concept is simple. Fill out a survey of personal preferences and upload the answers to a small computer circuit board. That circuit board is plugged into a nine-volt battery and sewn into a sweatshirt that has LED lights on it. Then, with the help of a wireless transmitter, when you pass by someone with similar interests, the LED lights turn on. "It's more of an ice breaker so you can get into a conversation with somebody that you normally just pass in the hallway you wouldn't know about," said UMaine junior Sean Collins. Professor Mike Scott pitched the idea to a class of nine students last semester. They took the idea and went with it, using Scott as a sounding board during the design phase. Owen Smith, the head of the New Media Department, said what's great about the Friend Finder is that the students can see how what they're learning in the classroom can be taken into real life. "We really push students from really very much the first year to think about actual implementation and prototyping and building and getting their hands dirty, so to speak," said Smith. Collins said Friend Finder is something that could be used in a freshman orientation. "Everybody gets a sweatshirt or a shirt," he said. "And you walk around, you find people who have common interests and it would really just help people get to know other people and break out of their social norm."
