S.T.EY.E condoms change colors depending on the disease.
By Raif Karerat
A trio of teenagers from London’s Issac Newton Academy believe they may have found an unorthodox but effective way to test for sexually transmitted diseases.
The three young students, Daanyaal Ali, 14, Muaz Nawaz, 13, and Chirag Shah, 14, have designed a “smart” condom called the “S.T.EYE” in an effort to make safe sex even safer.
According to the Washington Post, “there would be antibodies on the condom that would interact with the antigens of STDs, causing the condom to change colors depending on the disease.” Green may indicate Chlamydia, yellow for herpes, purple for human papillomavirus, or blue for syphilis.
“We wanted to make something that make detecting harmful STIs safer than ever before, so that people can take immediate action in the privacy of their own homes without the invasive procedures at the doctors,” Daanyall told The Independent.
The S.T. EYE took the top prize at the U.K.’s TeenTech Awards, an annual competition that seeks to encourage students to “understand their true potential and the real opportunities available in the contemporary STEM workplace.”
The students won about $1,500 and a chance to meet Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace later this year.
Former Tomorrow’s World presenter Maggie Philbin, founder and chief executive of TeenTech, said: “We encourage students to take their ideas out of the classroom by putting them face-to-face with industry professionals, helping to open their eyes to the real potential of their ideas.”
The idea for the newfangled condom is just that at the moment — a conceptual idea, and there are no plans for production as of yet.
Other winning inventions at the TeenTech Awards included shoes that allow the user to charge up electrical items while walking and an electronic tap that helps manage water supplies in developing countries.