Digital sun protection

The Swiss population suffers from skin cancer more often than most other countries. According to Krebsliga, around 3,000 people are diagnosed with melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer, every year. As we all know, the best protection against sun exposure is sunscreen. But sunscreen is not always used correctly and at the right time.

The start-up Ink-U-Beta AG, based in Zug, has developed a new UV sensor called sun-a-wear to control personal exposure to sunlight. According to the media release, the digital sun protection is based on a technology developed at ETH Zurich. The Swiss start-up says its goal is to make it easier for people to consciously deal with the sun and to mitigate negative long-term consequences of increased UV exposure, such as skin cancer and skin ageing.

The digital sunscreen consists of two components: the micro UV sensor, ultra-lightweight at 6 grams and only 4 centimetres long, and an app. The sensor can be worn on a strap on the arm or with a clip on clothing. It measures how strong the UV radiation is. It is waterproof and solar-powered and therefore never needs to be charged. The sensor sleeps for 99.9 % of the time and only wakes up for a few milliseconds to measure the UV radiation and to send this data to the smartphone app via Bluetooth.

This allows users to check their UV exposure simultaneously, receive personal sun protection advice and be warned as soon as a critical UV exposure is reached. Using artificial intelligence in the app and based on the personal skin type, a prediction is made as to whether sun cream is needed for the upcoming day.

The data from the app will also afford new insights for research and prevention in the area of UV radiation. To this end, the young company from Zug founded the Sun Aware Institute.