Design Project Incorporating a GPS

Short range devices are quite easy where the personal transmitter transmits a signal to a nearby receiver station (and the larger receiver then handles the transmit to the emergency services or similar). This system is good for personal alarms for people working in a building or on a work site (such as a factory or farm) or for burglar or medical emergency panic alarms.

http://www.micron.co.nz/products.php?id=418 - sorry, link no longer available

Plenty more links on the internet on these.

Long range devices where the user could be anywhere (including out of cellphone tower range or in a valley blocking radio transmission) are much more complicated to produce in a compact unit. These usually are small brick sized but do exactly what you want to do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distress_radiobeacon

http://www.survivalproductsinc.com/transmitters.html

http://www.equipped.org/plb_legal.htm

I know of no product compact enough to be worn on the wrist, but you may be able to minaturise the design to a larger belt clip device the size of an old Nokia cellphone such as the following.

http://www.survivalproductsinc.com/aquafix406.htm

Pocket-mounted is not viable due to the weight.

As for the link, radio or cellular is quite common. As for the interface at the emergency services, a pre-recorded message on a chip (with the GPS coordinates added) transmitted to a phone number or to the web to interface with an emergency service's web-based interface are options.

Electronic GPS modules that can be incorporated into a locator circuit and output location coordinates to a microcontroller that can then be incorporated into a transmittable signal are available, but ones small enough to fit in a watch-sized package along with the rest of the personal safety alarm electronics and transmitter are going to be hard to come by and difficult to work with (if at all outside of getting a SMD board manufacturer to assemble a product for you). A very, very, very bulky watch package with the electronics and battery spread over three or all four sides of the users wrist may be possible using off-the-counter parts suitable for a student project to demonstrate a prototype before mass-production miniturisation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System

Also try a google search of "personal emergency locator transmitter" or similar.

Lots of information here that should help point you in a practical direction.

Can you provide more information on your application?

I know of no product compact enough to be worn on the wrist......

I should add (if you don't already know) the main reason radio beacons are so large is to house the large radio transmitter and batteries. You can miniaturise them to some extent but your range, battery transmit life or both will drop. Tailoring the personal transmitter to the application and environment is absolutely vital as there are many factors that will greatly effect the design (eg- you need to know the terrain, locations and max transmit range the device is likely to be used, data rate of transmit message, etc).

As an estimate, a fairly compact radio transmitter wrist device (built from parts and modules available to a student for a project) will have a range up to about say 100m (perhaps more) for a short burst transmission to transmit a short text or data message and GPS coordinates.

Why are you excluding 1/2 the potential market? Maybe it's a requirement?

Autodialer? But, why do you need a base station?

Can't you do that with a new cell phone. Program it to call PD and report location? Even my two year old phone knows my location and PD can use this to locate you.

Wait a minute, What country are you in???????????????????????????????????

this sounds a whole lot like a cell phone

If cell phones have not put an end to rape, then why will this product?

Actually I like the idea as long as its affordable, but just be aware in your marketing that it is not a deterrent. Perhaps you could offer a companion product that has a deterrent effect... like painting the target offender with a laser, while calling in an airstrike...

Chris

paint them ...... capped them with your nine......

ya but with an airstrike you don't have to be particularly accurate.. especially while they are running away, and you (female) have a broken heel and running mascara..lol but on the other hand, I'm sure there are lots of femme fatale out there who would choose your option; more stylish.

EBC 406AP - AUTOMATIC PORTABLE EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER

For Raft Application (no bracket, external antenna, cable). Transmits on 406.028 & 121.5MHz. Meets TSO-C126. FAA Approved TSO-91a & TSO-126, approved by COSPAS-SARSAT, meets FCC requirements under Part 87.

Based on the above data provided by jack of all trades, i think a belt would be more the appropriate size. Once nanotech has improved, it may be able to go to the bracelet or watch size. You could probably reduce the battery size if it only sends a locator signal every 5, 10 or 15 minutes after a certain amount of time (maybe the first 30 minutes). Maybe install a small charge system that uses movement to extend battery life.

I think this is a decent idea. How it is implemented and price will determine how well it does on the market.

Note: I am assuming this is for the US market.

Hi thanks for all your help. Let me explain more about my project. I am a design student in the UK and so I am designing for the UK market. I have spoken to the police about the problems with assaults and sexual attacks on women in the UK and about personal attack alarms currently on the market.

Firstly, why am I doing this project?

I've had personal experience with assault a few years back and that made me think what could I have done to help my situation. It's not possible to prevent assaults from happening -you never know when or where it can happen with random attacks. I carry a mobile phone with me all the time but in an attack situation is it actually possible for anyone to take their phone, and dial 999 (911) while struggling to escape from the attacker? I certainly didn't have the time to.

From speaking to police and from my personal experience I realised an opportunity to design a device where the user can quickly activate a sound alarm, notifying any passersby of an attack but also to notify the emergency services as well. From my situation I was lucky enough to be saved by a person who luckily cycled through the alley where I was being attacked but that happened 10minutes after the attack started. If the cyclist had never been there worse things could've happened to me..I guess I was lucky. But if I had been able to contact the police there was a much higher chance of someone coming to rescue me asap.

Anyway back to my design...

I have chosen the concept of designing a wristband amongst other concepts which are slightly bigger like the belt ones some of you have mentioned -this decision was based from analysing how females might react to random attacks, their bodily movements and where would be the easiest place for the person to activate such a device. Appeal factor was also important too. Many woman I have spoken to did not like current personal alarms and would not carry one because they are either too bulky or scared of activating the alarm by accident. They wanted a device which does the job, but also look discrete, nice to look at and not like conventional alarms.

Since starting this project I have actually came across some parallel products which basicly have the same feature as my proposed design but in a different package i.e.

http://www.childsafetytech.com/store/1328792/product/20064599

So smaller GPS devices do exist already but I just don't know how to make it possible to make that connection with the police and the device. At the moment what I'm thinking of is that when the device is activated to contact the emergency services, an alert will be made to the police via their computer, showing the location of the person in need of help.

https://www.buddi.co.uk/article-buddihowdoesitwork-233.html This is another product/service I found on the net. It allows the person wearing the 'buddi' product to be located. Buddi offers a service to anyone who are registered to them (i.e. paranoid parents) and the location of the person could be viewed online, through calling buddi's response team, or information sent by text. My design is more simple than this where it is only required to notify the police the location of the person in need of help.

I know I will need to make compromises in my design to fit the technology I will need for the job I want my product to do but if possible I would still like to keep the wristband look, maybe it will have to be quite a big wristband

Sorry to hear that.

Based on your application either a loud sound alarm OR a silent help and location alarm may be best. There are practical problems with both types however that need to be taken into account.

local loud sound alarm - Still a good idea to seriously consider as human fight or flight instincts are very strong. There is no reason why one of these cannot be miniaturised to a wristwatch size, or at the very least have the wristwatch wirelessly trigger a larger unit either on the person or in hand baggage (with the wristwatch acting as a convenient panic button.

silent help and location alarm - Response time is going to be the biggest problem and this needs to be taken into account when designing a product relying on someone coming to your aid. What is the average response time for the police to respond to a phoned-in plea for help (home burglary, attack, etc) in the UK? An alarm like this becomes VERY useful for kidnap victims or where the attacker tries to transport the victim away (and hence the police or security firm have time to mobilise). Another problem is the alarm must not be too obvious least it gets noticed and discarded.

local loud sound alarm incorporating silent help and location alarm - the local loud sound alarm will draw attention to the alarm resulting in it getting disabled quickly (likely thru removal + foot) unless the attacker has fled (fight or flight instinct). Although a position signal may be sent before hand there is no guarantee the attacker has either fled the scene or taken the victim away from the area after disabling the alarm.

As with the local sound alarm, you could have the wristwatch wirelessly trigger a larger unit either on the person or in hand baggage (with the wristwatch acting as a convenient panic button). The problem is that the two should not be separated (eg- one left at home).

In the end there really is no ideal product solution. I prefer situational awareness combined with some basic hand-to-hand knowledge and very fast legs (yet another reason I don't wear high heels). Whenever I go anywhere (be it alone or with friends) I watch people and my surroundings and know my exits, also I am very careful about going anywhere where the risk of potential danger is high (such as an alley at night by myself).

I came across this new product on the internet

http://www.gizmag.com/lok8u-multim8-gps-wristwatch/13951/

Similar to Buddi but in a Wristwatch format and includes panic button and actual watch functionality. Worth a look.

Hi thanks for that. Sorry to have wasted your time but I have changed the design of my project since then as I was finding it difficult to fit the GPS in my design for the cost I want to market the product at. Having a GPS in the device would cost too much. I have posted a new post titled...

'Designing a Personal Protection Device' in the communications and electronics section. You'll find information of my changes there...and also another problem I'm having with the technology involved so feel free to have a look

thanks,

weewoo