Call for help: 8 gadgets for personal safety
Last week, the Russian project Nimb launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, in five days it was possible to collect an amount three times larger than required. Nimb is a high-tech ring with a built-in panic button that informs family, friends and rescue services that a person is in danger by sending a distress signal with coordinates.
In recent years, personal security devices are becoming more and more, and the gadgets themselves help to protect themselves or attract the attention of others in a variety of situations. Some of them are needed for protection in the attack, others are designed to help in critical situations arising at home, outdoors or on the road, others are designed specifically to help children and the elderly.
Individual alarms
Some of the most common devices for personal safety are individual alarms that make a loud sound that should scare the attacker and attract the attention of passersby. The simplest example of an individual alarm device is a whistle, but now more and more battery-powered devices are more unusual. Often, such devices are masked as key rings, so that the attacker does not understand what is in your hands. In addition, often signaling devices not only make loud sounds, but also glow - so that in a dark street they can also be used as a flashlight.
There are other signaling devices — for example, a Siren ring disguised as an ornament. In order to activate it, you need to rotate the upper part of the ring counterclockwise: after one and a half seconds, the ring will start to make a piercing sound - at this time, according to the creators of the device, you need to send the ring to the attacker’s face so that the sound is louder and the criminal is frightened and ran away .
Coasters that detect drugs in a drink
One of the most serious problems confronting devices for personal safety is rape. Very often, developers are looking for a way to prevent date rape - the so-called date rape, when the perpetrator becomes familiar or rape occurs after a date or party. Often this happens due to the fact that the victim is mixed in with a drug. The American company Drink Safe Technologies sells drink coasters and test strips that determine if there are mixed substances in the drink. Two years ago, they talked a lot about a special nail polish intended for the same purpose: it is assumed that the girl puts her finger in a glass with a drink, and if it turns out to be a drug, the varnish changes color. True, the project remained a project: its Facebook page has not been updated for more than six months.
Such devices have a serious drawback: none of them is able to identify all substances that theoretically can mix into the victim’s drink, simply because there are too many of them - Drink Safe Technologies products, for example, determine only two of the most common substances. In addition, test strips are usually used in conditions far from laboratory, so ideally accurate results will not be obtained. That, however, does not mean that the test strips are not useful and that the technology will not get better with time.
Door stop with buzzer
Such devices are most often used in hotels or in dormitories, when there are fears that outsiders may get into the room, but there is no hope for a door lock. The device is placed under the door, and when it is opened from the outside, the device starts to make a loud sound - because of it, you will probably wake up, and the criminal will think twice whether to come to you.
Suspended alarm devices work on the same principle. The device itself is hung on the door handle, and a metal clip is placed between the door and the jamb. But these devices have several drawbacks: they work on batteries, which can be discharged at the most inopportune moment, and, moreover, can react to vibration when the door is actually closed - and give a false alarm.
Alarm trackers and mini vests for swimmers
Some devices are not designed for self-defense, but to save lives in extreme situations. Very often, developers are engaged in water safety issues - both swimmers and those who simply rest by the open water or the pool. For example, SEAL Swim Safe consists of several trackers that connect to the central system. Trackers need to be worn around the neck: each of them can be programmed according to the level of the swimmer. The system will monitor how long a person is under water, and in case of danger will give a sound and light signal.
The Swim IT device is designed for those who are engaged in triathlon, preparing for Ironman competitions or simply swimming in open water. A small bag is attached to the athlete’s right foot — if necessary, the valve must be pulled, and a life jacket will automatically inflate from the bag. Other developers also think in this direction - for example, the Kingii bracelet works in a similar way. This year, Lifeshirt, a self-inflating T-shirt, which turns into a life jacket if necessary, should go on sale. T-shirt creators believe that it is useful not only to athletes, but also to those who fish, go boating, as well as children who are not very confident swimming.
Cycling Protection
Developers think a lot about the safety of cyclists in the city - where they are particularly at risk of an accident. In order to protect them, smart clothes and accessories with LED lamps, which not only glow in the dark, but also indicate when a cyclist stops or is about to turn, are invented. While on the site of the manufacturer of clothes Lumenus you can only order a backpack, but they promise to expand the line.
They also try to modernize the existing protection: in Sweden, for example, they invented the smart collar Hövding, which determines when a person has an accident and falls off the bike, and inflates a helmet to soften the blow. Another smart helmet is now raising money with the help of Kickstarter. Front and rear cameras are built into it, which analyze the external environment, recognize machines that are out of your line of sight, and signal them. The device reads when you are going to turn and raise your hand to show it, and when you brake, and lights the turn signal or brake light.
GPS Devices
One of the most common types of protective devices - devices with GPS. Most often they are intended for a specific group of people. For example, the BikeTag device was developed for cyclists: it attaches to a bicycle, connects to a smartphone (as long as there is an iPhone-only application), and tracks your location and route. The application automatically notifies your subscribers when you start and end the trip, and can also reveal that you had an accident and notify your friends and family.
Quite often, there are special GPS-devices that track the location of children or the elderly and transmit data to the smartphone. Often, through applications in such devices, you can mark places where a child must be at a certain time (for example, at school or at home) and track if he has reached them. Often in such devices there is also an alarm button.
Often, tracking devices are created specifically for women - they are masked as bracelets and other jewelry, so that the attacker does not realize that the woman has a device with an alarm button in her hands. In addition, there are many applications that allow you to notify your loved ones or the police that you are in danger. However, it should be borne in mind that the smartphone is usually one of the most valuable things that we carry with us, so it is likely that the offender will want to take it away in the first place.
Emergency Care System
For older people who live separately from their relatives, there is a separate category of devices - emergency call systems. An elderly person receives a small device with an alarm button, which he must press if he becomes ill. The system connects the person with the operator, who listens to the problem and decides how best to act: call an ambulance brigade, call relatives or ask neighbors for help. Older people are offered to install devices with an alarm button in different cities of Russia. Often this is done by non-profit organizations.
The alert function of multiple contacts when the alarm button is pressed is built into some phones designed for older people.
Universal protection device
In addition to devices that solve specific and fairly narrow problems, the developers also deal with devices that can solve several problems simultaneously. About a year ago, for example, a successful campaign to raise funds for the creation of AllBe1, a device that has a motion sensor, an alarm button and several sensors that measure different parameters, including temperature, light level and ultraviolet radiation, ended. The device can be used as a fitness tracker, and you can use it to monitor the location of children and pets, send data about where you are by pressing the alarm button, or, for example, receive alerts that someone has snuck into your house. In addition, the device can be programmed independently and add new functions to it.
Photo: SIREN, Amazon, SEAL SwimSafe, Safelet, Medical Guardian, Drink Safe Technologies, AllBe1, Brooklyness