1. 1
Abstract — Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun can
cause major damage to the skin if it is overexposed. The
damage can be minor, from a sunburn to accelerated skin
aging, to major with the development of detrimental skin
cancers. UV photons that are able to bypass the natural
defenses of the skin, melanin and DNA, can cause
mutagenic damage to DNA, which can result in a range of
harmful effects. Relying solely on the skin’s natural
defenses against the sun is ill advised. The use of sunblock
decreases a person’s chances of skin damage, but changing
overall behavior through education is healthier. We
propose a lightweight portable UVR detection system,
UVision, to prevent users from harmful UVR radiation.
The system contains two parts: a wearable UV sensor to
collect real time UVR data and an Android mobile
application to have the user’s attention by display the
sensor’s results. The data connection is implemented by
using Bluetooth. Early testing shows that UVision not only
provides a cost-efficient option to the public, but it also has
an easy-to-use design to provide a good user experience.
I. INTRODUCTION
The sun is known to have several benefits to the body and
cures several diseases. From lupus vulgaris to psoriasis, the
range of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) that the sun provides is
known to help cure these diseases in the right dose [2]. UVR
lies between 100 and 400 nm on the electromagnetic
spectrum. It is further split into three main sections: UV-A,
UV-B, and UV-C, each with a specific wavelength range of
their own.
Generally speaking, the earth’s atmosphere is efficient at
attenuating the extremely harmful UVR bands through
absorption [2]. Out of the radiation that does pass the
atmosphere, only 5% is UVR with roughly 96.65% in the UV-
A range and 3.35% in the UV-B range. UV-C is not a factor in
harmful UVR. However, Ultraviolet radiation can be very
dangerous and harmful to the skin if not properly protected.
Staying under the sun for long periods of time without proper
protection can lead to erythema (sunburn), photoaging, and the
development of carcinogenesis [2]. The major concern with
UVR damage is undoubtedly the potential of cancer. Common
cancer types that result in UVR overexposure include basal
cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and
malignant melanoma [2]. UV-A and UV-B have different
harmful effects on the skin. UV-A is the more prevalent one
but less effective since it penetrates deeper into the
subcutaneous layer of the skin. Although less effective, UV-A
is still known to cause skin cancer. UV-B is known to cause
the majority of the harmful effects including sunburn and
cancer since it penetrates closer to the surface of the skin,
mostly the epidermis and part of the dermis [3].
To best interpret UVR levels on a day-to-day basis, the UV
index was established in 1992 in Canada, and later adopted as
the standard indicator of UV levels by the world in 1994 [4].
The UV index is based on the erythemal action spectrum,
which shows the most immediate short-term impact on human
skin. The index represents erythemally weighted UV radiation
as a single integer, usually from 0-15. The number is obtained
by a specific conversion factor between UV index and
erythemal irradiance measured in Watts per meters squared
[4]. Irradiance is the measure of power per unit area, and a
person’s specific irradiance can be calculated for the most
accurate reading. Irradiance has many influential factors
including dosage, time, and angle of the UVR hitting the skin
[5].
The key to staying safe under the sun is to be aware of it at
all times and knowing what is needed to remain safe.
However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no easy-to-use
portable solution that the general public can use. To address
this issue, we propose UVision, which is a lightweight system
that users can use to be aware of surrounding UV radiation.
UVision contains two components: a wearable ultraviolet
sensor and a mobile application. The users can use the system
to easily know the exact UV index they are being exposed and
take suggestions from the system. In the rest of the paper, we
will explain our approach, design and techniques, and
conclude with future directions.
II. RELATED WORK
To the best of our knowledge, there are not many products
available on the market as UV radiation sensors that can be
worn in daily basis. Even research prototypes, there are
limited options. In the past, to keep the public aware of
sunburns, melanoma, and skin cancer detection, organizations
UVision: A Lightweight Portable UVR
Detection System
Omar I. Hoblos1
, Matthew W. Sheehan1
, Devin J. Laferriere1
, Chen-Hsiang Yu2
1
Biomedical/Medical Engineering 2
Computer Science and Networking
Wentworth Institute of Technology Wentworth Institute of Technology
{hobloso, sheehanm4, laferriered}@wit.edu yuj6@wit.edu

2. 2
such as the American Academy of Dermatology launched
media campaigns through radio, television, and newspaper [6].
These previous attempts were moderately successful between
1986 and 1996 by increasing use of sunscreen, but did not
greatly affect the behaviors that result in sunburns and skin
damage. Use of tanning parlors increased during the time
period, and tan skin was still perceived as very attractive [6].
Educational awareness has also been integrated into
elementary, middle school and high school programs by taking
regular sessions over short periods of time [7]. These classes
would result in more detailed knowledge of skin cancers,
prevention and awareness. They did not affect behavior as
much as increasing general awareness [8]. Studies have shown
that young adults trust their physicians as reliable sources of
information on cancer [9]. Indoor Tanning and sunbathing are
the most concerning behaviors related young adults
developing sunburns, and is a likely influence on development
of personalized skin protection devices like the Netatmo June.
III. APPROACH
The idea behind this research is to keep the design simple to
operate, yet have it output a variety of valuable information.
To meet our objectives, we propose to have a lightweight
system keep users informed and help them make proper
decisions. The system should have 2 major components: a
small sensor for detecting UVR intensity and a mobile
application for showing real-time intensity values.
Fig. 1. UVision System Layout Block Diagram
The design of the system has to be able to reach a core
demographic while also encompassing other people who can
use this in everyday work environments. There are also a
number of individuals that may work outside for extended
periods. This system could help be a reminder of need to apply
sunscreen, help minimize exposure times based on time of
day, and help lower the overall risk of skin damage. The
average users may be middle class, but it should always be the
goal to make the system as cost efficient as possible, unlike
other products on the market.
IV. DESIGN AND TECHNIQUES
To have a lightweight design in hardware, we surveyed
available UV sensors on the market and decided to use
Netatmo June, which is a personal UV sensor that looks like a
simple feminine bracelet. The initial testing design was very
bulky. The components for testing include the Arduino Uno,
the Sparkfun ML8511 sensor and the Adafruit SI1145
UV/Visible/IR sensor. (Figure 2) Header pins were soldered to
the sensors to attach to a breadboard, which was wired to the
Uno. The Sparkfun sensor uses an analog connection to
display the output and algorithms in the code to attain the
different values. The code for this sensor was found on the
Sparkfun website. The Adafruit sensor communicates to the
microcontroller using I2C communication based on the serial
data line (SDA) and serial clock line (SCL). Adafruit provides
an SI1145 Arduino library to use their sensor to output UV
index, visible light, and infrared light values.
The final design incorporated the smallest possible
components that could be acquired with cost effective
methods. The Arduino Uno is very bulky and was replaced the
Arduino Pro Mini. The Adafruit SI1145 was the determined
UV sensor to use but was replaced with the much smaller and
much more wearable Adafruit Flora SI1145 which operates
the same way. The Bluetooth chip in use is the HC-06
Bluetooth module, which is simple to use and transmits data
effectively. The wiring of the different components was very
simple with the majority of the wiring diagrams provided by
the respective companies. The decision to go with a more
traditional wiring method involving soldering is much safer
with less risk. When it came to powering the system, a lithium
polymer battery was chosen. This type of battery can power
the entire system with just one 3.7 v 105 mAh battery and can
be recharged, which is key. The sensor and the HC-06 also
only require 3.3 volts that makes the overall system fairly
efficient to power.
Fig. 2. From Top to Bottom. Adafruit Flora SI1145, Arduino Pro
Mini, HC-06 Bluetooth, Rechargeable lithium polymer battery. The
Quarter is to give a reference for size.
This sensor records the UV exposure and our software
makes recommendations to the user through an application.
The recommendations span from telling the user to wear
sunglasses and a hat, to which SPF sunscreen to apply based
on radiation levels. The sensor itself is disguised nicely as a
piece of jewelry and comes with a leather bracelet that it can
clip on to. The design of June sensor is tiny and pretty suitable
to be integrated into an Arduino board. Since the June is
designed to look like a regular bracelet, it makes our system a
much more suitable to the women populations.

3. 3
The sensor of UVision system is a portable and wearable
device that individuals of all ages can clip on to their clothing
or accessories and stay aware of the sun’s harmful rays all
day. The device pairs with the app to give the best protection
recommendation, but it can also be a stand-alone device that
the user can rely on for awareness of UV index.
A. Case Design
The casing of the device is designed to contain all the
electronics of the project. More important than that, the casing
had to fulfill several design goals to make this device a viable
product to be used everyday. To rapidly prototype the casing,
the Objet 3D printer was used making the case out of standard
ABS plastic. This material is not ideal as it is naturally porous
and not structurally stable to handle medium height falls. For
the purpose of demonstrating design, however, this casing
works fine. (Figure 3)
Fig. 3. The Final Completed Case Design that was 3D printed with
ABS plastic. All the components fit inside. The micro-USB port seen
above is how the device is recharged.
B. Application Design
In addition to writing software for the device, including the
sensor, we also develop a mobile application for the public to
read information on their mobile devices. We start the mobile
application development from idea generation, refinement,
paper prototyping, UI/UX design to software development and
testing. The application development took about 5 months,
starting from April 2015. We use Eclipse IDE with Android
ADT plugin. The created software also works for latest
Android Studio IDE. Through the use of the Android Software
Development Kit (SDK), we have developed a functioning
application that can work on any Android smartphone and is
designed to work with the UV sensor via Bluetooth. The
application provides a functioning interaction to effectively
communicate the current UV conditions to the user. There are
two components in the application.
The first component is the home screen UI. The first screen
that user sees after opening up the application contains the
most important features of the device. The core features of the
layout can be seen in Figure 4. There is a large number in the
top left-hand corner that represents the UV index for that day.
The color of the number changes depending on intensity of the
recorded UV index. The horizontal colored bar with a gradient
is a progress bar programmed to fill based on the UVI reading.
A text message is displayed estimating the amount of time it
may take to get sunburn based on the current UVI reading.
The “Apply Lotion” button activates the timer displayed. This
timer serves to remind the user to re-apply sun lotion, a core
way to protect visible skin when outside to extended periods
of time.
The two images at the bottom of the screen serve as visual
indicators as to what protection is recommended for the
current UVI. A sun protection lotion bottle, with the SPF
recommended, and an avatar wearing protective clothes like
sunglasses and hat serve to remind the user of what can protect
in the strong UVI conditions. The images and text views are
clickable, and redirect the user to pages with related
information.
The second component was a navigation drawer that helps
the user navigate through the pages containing health
information. There is a large sum of information and data on
the web about skin protection and health. Our goal was to
simplify that information into an easy to access and
consumable form so that the user could understand the
benefits of protecting the skin. The application contains
multiple pages on the UV Index, types of skin, protection
methods, and basic skin disease information. The goal is to
keep the user informed of the changing UV conditions, track
durations of exposure and intensity, and remind the user of
resources available to minimize skin damage.
Fig. 4.A screen shot captured from the Home Screen of the Android
application on a Google Nexus 5, running Android 5.1.

4. 4
V. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS
The convenience of mobile devices and the development of
a wearable sensor have provided a best way to improve human
life. In this paper, we propose a new lightweight portable
UVR detector system, named UVision, to remind the users an
exact time to reapply the sunblock as well as educate them
how much exposure they are being exposed to before and after
applying the sunblock. UVision helps the user prevent UVR
damage by educating and increasing the awareness of sun
exposure. With nearly five million Americans being treated
for skin cancer each year as of 2011, with that number steadily
increasing, a preventative solution is necessary and important.
The medical expenses for skin cancer have risen 126%,
costing $8.3 billion yearly [10]. The more people aware of
UVR damage, the less cases happen. It reduces the expenses.
The future additions of the UVision system include several
changes that will be incorporated in the near future but were
not completed in time for this submission. First, the current
components of the hardware device are still fairly large which
makes the casing rather bulky. One way to reduce the size
immensely is to combine all components into a single PCB
using Eagle software. Second, it is important to improve the
battery life of the device to make the system a more viable
product. The battery life of current prototype is about four
hours, but one charge for a full day usage is more realistic for
being a useful device.
Power consumption can be immensely reduced through the
use of Arduino sleep mode. Small tests in this area were
unsuccessful and were not able to be explored further due to
time constraints. The implementation of sleep mode would be
very useful in only collecting data in the correct situations like
when the sensor is exposed to sunlight. Using the visible light
sensor on the SI1145, a future addition to the device might be
to place the device in sleep more when it is in shade and wake
up the device once it receives a visible light reading high
enough to be sunlight. Eventually, the casing will be made of
more ideal materials in a more cost effective method such as
injection molding.
Moving forward with mobile application development, we
plan to add some bonus features, including personalization and
aesthetics. Determination of one’s skin tone through the
Fitzpatrick scale quiz can help to make mobile app more
customizable and provide personalized recommendations. A
forecast page proved difficult to orientate and would give the
user an up-to-date database of weather information for both
the predicted index and changing conditions throughout the
day. To make the sensor more accurate and reliable, a
calibration feature would be added to better estimate the index
as the day progresses. An improvement to the layout will
promote ease and quality of use and make it visually
appealing. Last but not least, a user study with real people will
be conducted to provide feedbacks to improve current system,
including hardware and mobile application.
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