This fashion student came with a brilliant idea for commuting hands free around London.
Lucie Davis, 22, embedded an Oyster card microchip into her false nails as part of her final degree project.
Instead of endlessly searching for the Oyster card in her bag, Lucie now travels with ease – simply tapping her nails against the touchpad to hop on the tube.
Lucie is currently studying for a BA in Jewellery design at UCL Central Saint Martins and came up with the idea after finding out that the theme of her final degree project involved finding wonder in routine activities.
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The nails work exactly as a normal Oyster card, meaning you can use them for all public transport in London, and they can be topped up whenever needed.
She admits it was quite a challenge to come up with the final result and it required a lot problem solving skills and patience.
Speaking to WAH Nails, she said: ‘I took the RFID chip from an Oyster card and embedded it within a full set of acrylic nails to give commuters the ability to pay for their journeys with a single tap/touch.
‘You can still top them up with money too. Now you’ll never have to worry about misplacing your card again!’
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Through her projects Lucie wants to show that apart from having a decorative role, with a bit of imagination, the false nails can become particularly useful.
Lucie added: ‘I like to think of my work as a 21st century update to the traditional keepsake. It’s about finding a fresh new perspective on things, providing more meaning in a world we may take for granted and (hopefully) changing the way we think in a positive light.’
The student is now in communication with the Transport for London for an eventual implementation of the project, however, nothing has yet been confirmed.
‘But you can be sure that it would find a market amongst the stylish if they did,’ Lucy added.
‘I hope to see it make its way into the street, the public sphere, the universe!
‘I think the whole process of making it actually got me further questioning the world and allowed me to view it differently; imagining needs and products which may fashion the future.
‘I think that their strength is in their combination of technology with the current trend of nail art (which is all about the process of personalisation).
‘In doing so, it ultimately makes it a work of wearable technology which addresses a number of consumer needs, such as the need for the latest innovations, the need for maximum convenience/simplicity in people‘s lives and of course an element of light-hearted fun!’
With more innovative ideas like this, Lucie is bound to have the world at her fingertips!
