Find Missing Kids with SafetyLink
Find your lost car keys, smartphone and abducted child. Yes, you read that correctly: There’s now a device that can locate your missing child (or wandering elderly grandmother). And the device that can do this is TINY.
Imagine a device that can be used as a keychain and not only locate missing people, but your dog that’s run off. Sanjay Chadha did, and the result is SafetyLink, which uses wireless technology combined with smartphones and cloud sourcing to provide community protection.
Chadha is the co-founder and CEO of Safety Labs Inc., the developer of SafetyLink. Chadha came up with the idea as a result of the much publicized gang rape that had occurred in New Delhi. So disturbed by this crime, he awakened one morning at 4 a.m. and knew it was time to develop a mobile-based solution that could save people in danger.
Enter SafetyLink
The main targets of SafetyLink are children, women and senior citizens. Should a child become lost or abducted, for example, or a hiker take a serious fall, they simply press and hold the coin-sized button of the device. This will send an SOS.
The SOS will then be distributed by a cloud server, alerting individuals who are in the user’s network—who have proximity to the user. Emergency services (e.g., 9-1-1) will also be notified.
And guess what: SafetyLink has key features that prevent prank calls. The device includes GPS technology to locate the user (imagine a child in the car of an abductor, pressing the button—which can be worn as a pendant—the predator would never suspect a thing!
The SOS will make its way to the dashboard of a police cruiser in the vicinity. The police will be on the predator’s tail in no time.
SafetyLink can be used by “anybody and everybody,” says Chadha. It easily clips to a child’s jacket or backpack, Grandma’s fanny pack or your dog’s collar. It needs charging only once a year, due to Blue Tooth technology. And remember, it can also locate missing car keys and phones.
How does Safetylink alert?
A parent, for instance, determines the travel range of their child and sets this up via an online application. If the child wanders out of (or is taken out of) this travel range, the parent’s smartphone will beep.
The parent then registers the child’s SafetyLink with the cloud server: The police and community will be alerted to search for the missing person. Think of this as a wireless leash. It can be switched on and off; the travel range can be adjusted; and people can always be added to the network.
This new product sure sounds like a winner. However, its success depends on community participation. People are encouraged to download the free application. The device costs only $35.
Thus far, 220 have been pre-ordered from the U.S., Canada, Europe, India and Brazil.
Where can pre-orders be made?
Safetylink.org. The product will be officially on the market May 2014.
