Wherify Global Positioning System Personal Locator
A California company called Wherify will begin marketing a device this month that could – along with a coming wave of other technological innovations – redefine democratic values.
Parents will soon be able to a buy a cheerfully colored, 3-ounce bracelet called the Wherify Global Positioning System Personal Locator. The water-resistant bracelet locks onto a child's wrist; if cut or forcefully removed, it activates an alarm and notifies Wherify's emergency operators.
The bracelet sends out a continuous signal, and the parent can track the child's whereabouts either by calling a toll-free telephone number or going to the Wherify Web site and tapping in a code. Within seconds, a satellite photo pops up on the screen, showing a bird's-eye view of a neighborhood, street, building, a field. Click the mouse, and you can zoom down into the neighborhood and see the locale up close, the exact spot where your child – or at least the bracelet – is.
Wherify is launching a sophisticated campaign. It designs its tracker to look like a status toy, and its advertising pitch is seductive, in a Nintendo kind of way: "Peace of Mind for Parents. Cool for Kids. . . . Wherify's GPS Personal Locator helps keep loved ones safe by combining Wherify's patented technology with the U.S. Department of Defense's multibillion-dollar (GPS) satellites plus the largest 100 percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless network. So relax. Now you can have peace of mind 24 hours a day while your child is the high-tech envy of the neighborhood!"
But wait, there's more: a Synchronized Atomic Clock, Built-in Pager, or Patented Safety Lock (prevents unwanted removal; activate manually or remotely). And – of course – the Wherifier is "Kid-tested, Kid-tough."
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/louv/20020901-9999_1n1futedge.html