It’s a sad fact that the world as we see it feels more dangerous than ever. 2016 in particular is prominent in the “Screw that, I’m staying inside’ feels, as it seems like many locations are more dangerous than they’re worth. So how do you go outside? A company that makes something they call the Riskband believes that they have the answer.
Whereable Technologies’s Riskband could very well be that answer, provided that the company can deliver on the promises that they make in the product video (below). The Riskband is a wearable device but it does nothing until you actually touch the button on it. Then the wearer’s GPS location is tracked and sent to a central location. A two-way audio system and a camera in the Riskband are also activated, to help the folks monitoring the wearer’s situation to formulate a response. It’s a wrist-mounted panic button and its creators say that it should work anywhere in the world with cell reception – with needing a phone.
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For all that it sounds fantastic Riskband doesn’t have a cost yet, nor does it have a release date. There could well be a reason for that and part of it is the likelihood of a subscription being a requirement. The rest concerns the wearable’s lofty goals.
Some of these features seem like they’re out of an American TV show, or aimed towards VIPs and the military. On-call translators monitoring your situation before what sounds like a strike team (or just very clever marketing) being dispatched to your location sounds like the stuff of dreams if you’re actually caught in a horrific situation. Not the sort of thing the average person has to deal with but there’s always that chance… and perhaps that’s what Whereable is counting on. People will pay for the possibility of serious rescue in a serious situation.
The concept is certainly a good one – A panic button that broadcasts your location, snaps images and broadcasts audio? That could very well be a life-saver. Even if it doesn’t have a team of Navy SEALs inbound to your location within minutes. We hope we see more of this sort of thing.