TOKYOApril 16 (News On Japan) – With the start of the new school year this spring, there is a technology that is attracting a lot of attention: the GPS child monitoring device, which ensures the safety of children.
Currently, companies are competing fiercely to introduce the latest features in GPS trackers for kids. These devices not only provide improved accuracy in location tracking, but also receive voice messages such as “Where are you? What time are you home?” allowing fast voice communication between parents and their children by simply long pressing a button on the device.
Ryo Sato of MIXI Corporation, who developed this advanced feature, said, “The ability for parents and children to easily communicate via voice is an incredibly useful feature.”
A survey of more than 4,000 parents showed that approximately 90% want to know the location of their child when they are apart. With many primary schools banning smartphones, MIXI Corporation has seen demand for GPS trackers for children increase approximately seventeen times compared to two years ago.
“As more parents work and children spend time alone in after-school clubs, tutoring or classes, the need for children to act independently grows,” said Sato, head of Mite-ne Business Development at MIXI Corporation.
In one family that provided their first grade student with a GPS, there was an instance where the child activated an emergency alarm. The parents rushed to find their child, who had merely strayed from the route home, and used the GPS button to summon help, fortunately avoiding any serious incident.
Primary school students who use the device feel safe because they know they can press a button for their mother to pick them up.
Meanwhile, Japan’s Kokuyo Corporation has introduced a groundbreaking technology to their GPS devices. They have developed a smart tag that can be attached to a child’s wallet or water bottle, allowing parents to check via their smartphone whether their child has left anything behind while on the road.
In addition, Kokuyo’s newly developed monitors are equipped with a microphone and camera, allowing parents to communicate with their single children through messages and voice calls from work.
Yoko Yamamoto, leader of the Hello Family Group at Kokuyo Corporation, noted, “Being able to know what your child is doing in real time adds to safety and peace of mind.”
Kokuyo Corporation plans to conduct internal testing to see how these devices can balance parenting and work and will publish the results.
Source: FNN
