“Single Sensors” Make Hooking Up Easier

A new device can alert you to love matches passing on the street

The lives of unlucky-in-love singles just got easier.

Students at the University of Maine have developed a device that can alert the wearer to potential love matches he or she encounters in daily life, the Boston Globereports.

People who wear the "Friend Finder" can program the device with their likes, dislikes and interests. If another "Friend Finder" wearer with similar characteristics is nearby, a series of red LED lights flash on the device, indicating potential compatibility.

"It's like an icebreaker," student Sean Collins, who worked on the prototype, told the Globe.

"You walk past somebody you know and it lights up. Then you get into a conversation with somebody maybe you've never talked to," Collins said.

The Friend Finder device is good for situations other than dating, too -- students said it could work equally well for business or social networking and training.

The appeal of the device, students said, is that unlike social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, the "Friend Finder" gives people the opportunity to meet face-to-face from the very beginning.

"I think a lot of people are still wary about meeting people online," said student Rebecca Wright.

"This way, it's initially face-to-face, and you're not changing your pattern," she said.

The new media students at the university are still working out the kinks on the Friend Finder device.

Contact Us