Wearables more than trackers…family communicators

December 19, 2013 | by
[grow_thumb image=”https://telecareaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Zoomed.jpg” thumb_width=”180″ /]This article from Connected World, despite the title of Will your kid wear wearables?, is a look at Revolutionary Tracker, which has developed two products from a GPS-enabled tracker to a simplified smartwatch. Both read to a smartphone for GPS tracking and communication. Where it differs is that the company broadly, not narrowly targets, ‘family tracking and communications’ as a modish wearable–infants, children, special needs children and adults (the autism market which most trackers have concentrated on), older adults and pets. Lone workers are another market, and a newer market: groups such as in camps, school trips and residential communities. It is also unusually made in USA, and the founders already have in the works a more sophisticated-looking design with multiple buttons and text functionality.

Our related recent coverage: KeepUS (UK only), Mindme (also UK),  We’ve covered Lok8U (UK/US) in the past and buddi (UK) as far back as 2009.

Button TrackR: Object and people finding with an added extra

June 20, 2013 | by

There are a number of small phone app-based tracking devices in development but stick-on Button TrackR has an extra something. The phones of other people running the app can pick up the signal and flag the location to a server if the object (or person) is out of range of the owner’s device. The developers’ modest crowdfunding target of $15,000 has been wildly exceeded. It’s publicity that money can’t buy. Button TrackR adds crowd sourced tracking to search for lost objects (Gizmag)

Police use GPS trackers to find people with dementia (UK)

May 1, 2013 | by | 1 Comment

According to a BBC TV report (may not be viewable outside the UK), Sussex Police has become the first force in Britain to pay for GPS tracking to help people with dementia. They are using the £27/month Mindme device.
UPDATE 2 May: Mike Clark on the 3millionlives LinkedIn group has pulled together links to items that are appearing in response to the above BBC report. For readers without access to the group they are from the Guardian; the Telegraph, the BBC and the Alzheimer’s Society. Judging by the comments on the Guardian article, the National Pensioners Convention badly misjudged the public mood on this one, and their press release muddles the issues of service funding, who should be responsible for people with dementia, and social isolation.