BENGALURU: A wallet that works as a self-defence tool too? This is what a startup comprising students and alumni of Manipal University has developed. Called Buzzbag, the wallet has an inbuilt stun gun, a siren and card data eraser besides other smart features.
When attacked, the victim has to reach out to the wallet and target it at the attacker. Karnataka government has consented to fund the project and Buzzbag is expected to be priced below `3,500.
“Often, women do not keep stun guns at the hand’s reach. It is deep down their bags. At times, they touch it accidentally and have a shock themselves,” says Donson D’Souza, founder of the startup BlackFrog Technologies. But their design, they believe, will avoid such risks.
“We mostly keep wallets at a place that is easy to reach. At the time of attack, the earlier it can be reached, the better,” adds Donson, whose friend Mayur Shetty helped with the design. The idea came up after some women friends said they felt afraid to walk some unlit stretches at night.
The multipurpose product is designed such that a woman, with the click of a button in the wallet, can set off an alarm. Further, the wallet can also be linked to a smart phone through which text alerts are sent to select contacts.
This wallet also comes handy while walking on dark stretches as an LED light is embedded too. Should one lose the wallet, there is not much to worry. “High-voltage transformers are being employed for the stun gun mechanism. We want to use the same for generating an electromagnetic pulse, so that credit cards and other magnetic strips are deactivated remotely, if the wallet is stolen,” adds Donson.