Google employees show off the two different colors of the Moto smartwatch at the Google I/O developers conference on June 25, 2014.
Google employees show off the two different colors of the Moto smartwatch at the Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco June 25, 2014. Reuters/Elijah Nouvelage

The wristband, developed by a Boston-based company, is intended to break bad habits of people who wear the product by administering dozes of electric shock. Crazy as it seems, the idea of using electric blasts is getting mixed reactions from the market.

The device was named after Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, famous for his 1918 work in classical conditioning. In an experiment, he rings a bell everytime he gave food to a dog. Using the sound of the bell as stimulus in this practice, the dog will relate the food with the ringing of the bell.

Following Pavlov's principle, the band wearer will pick a bad habit that the he intends to remove and chooses the punishment the wristband will apply. Punishments can be in a form of a simple vibration, a sound reminder, making the wearer pay a fee or hitting the wearer with a mild electric shock of up to 300 volts, News.com.AU reports.

The device can also prohibit the wearer from using his mobile phone.

On the other hand, if the user does something -- which is good or for his own benefit, like waking up earlier as planned, completing an academic paper or completing required hours on the gym -- then a financial reward awaits or friends will be notified of such good job or accomplishment.

The wristband is equipped with a Bluetooth radio that is linked to a specific smartphone app that monitors the actions of the user. For example, an app that will tell if the wearer has turned up on time to the office or came on time for an appointment.

According to a recent report from Yahoo Tech, Pavlok creator Maneesh Sethi said that the device serves as a sophisticated dog-training collar. You get to attain your set goals with the help of the device which is monitored by a GPS tracker or through a Chrome browser add-on that you can use to track websites you want to refrain from clicking or limit the tabs you open. But according to the developer, serious bad habits like smoking or heavy eating must be self-reported to the app. This being mentioned is an obvious loophole on the device.

Pavlok's release is due on April next year and developers boast that they already received roughly a thousand pre-orders from curious and excited consumers.