Nearly 8-million children get lost every year. The shocking statistic inspired Taiwanese startup Beluvv to create Guardian, a small wearable device that is able to track a child’s movements.
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The device (which can be worn as everything from a necklace to a watch) is paired up with a smartphone app using Bluetooth, allowing you to check if your child is wandering outside a safe perimeter and quickly locate them on a map.
The app also utilizes the network of users to help each other find a child when the child goes out of the parent’s pre-set radar. For example, when another child that is wearing the Guardian device comes into my Bluetooth radar, Guardian’s cloud server would activate a global search immediately. When the lost child comes into my Bluetooth radar, not only would I get notified, the parent of the lost child would also get notified of my location. This makes everyone almost like a Guardian angel.
Using the Bluetooth energy (BLE) technology, this device also has the advantage of being smaller, lighter and consumes much less power than GPS devices.
The device and app are ready for orders but would not be shipped till the end of November. Although Beluvv didn’t reveal the number of order estimates, nevertheless it is expecting to sell at least 16-million pieces at its initial launch. With each device priced at US$29.95 each, the project is self-funded.
The startup has also taken a social stance right from the beginning and has created a programme called Give One Love that aims to stamp out the problems of missing children. Beluvv would give one free Guardian device to families in need whenever someone makes a double purchase of the device.
The product seems to be riding on trends such as the matured Bluetooth technology and also wearable devices. Over the past year, we have seen products such as Samsung Smart watch, Fitbit, Google Glass, Nike FuelBand, Jawbone Up hit the markets. Other child and pet tracking products such as Filip, Tagg, Whistle, Tile are also currently in the market already.
This article by Elizabeth Tan originally appeared on e27, a Burn Media publishing partner.
