Child Device Safety - Business Plan Example

Child device safety Background Children safety is one of the most important things that parents and the whole community observe because children are a country’s most precious resource (Calman and Tarr-Whelan 4). With safe children, a country is sure of continuity. However, children can easily wander off from the routes they are used to and get lost. Such incidences are common after school, when on vacation, when in crowded places, and in amusement parks. When children wander off, the parents search for them with lots of fears. The search can be traumatizing to the parents because chances of the child falling in dangerous zones grow by every minute spent away from the caregivers. To save the parents the pressure that comes with not knowing where a child is, a child-tracking device becomes one of the remedies. This project therefore sorts to provide a solution by developing software for parents to track their children with a GPS and SMS capable smart watch. The project will involve writing software for a server and a smartphone application. The software will aim at exploring the child’s day-to-day movements. When the child, for example, strays from his usual route on his way from school, the server will send requests to the smart watch through an SMS gateway, which will respond with a GPS data point. By analyzing this information, the server will use data analytic techniques to categories those data points as safe or non-safe places for children. The parent will then receive a notification from the smartphone application on the specific danger, and the exact position where the child is. With such innovation, the parent will need not worry when at work of their children where about. This project adopted GPS tracking over GSM and WiFi due to it know record on accuracy of 88% (Mun, et al 1). GPS is also known for energy efficiency in less congested places. In poor GPS signal data zones, the ephemeris downloads may prolong download time hence leading to GPS receiver systems consuming more energy (Evanczuk 1). This issue is well handled by installing GPS in areas where mobile networks provide coverage. To reduce ephemeris download time, this project explores the usefulness of SMS alerts as a way of reducing energy consumption. One challenge in creating this system will be in how to decide when to trigger a notification. We will do this by extracting semantically significant “safe regions” and “safe routes” from the tracking data and detecting when the child has strayed from these patterns. Due to the fact that coordinates will vary slightly within a particular semantically significant area, the algorithms used for this analysis must be able to tolerate such variance. Another issue will be battery consumption in the smart watch. GPS tracking can use battery life quickly, so the server will need to send tracking requests intermittently, deciding when to do so based on recent activity. Another strategy for reducing battery consumption would be to use cell tower tracking, which uses less power than GPS. Objectives The main objective of the project is to develop software for parents to track children with GPS and SMS capable smart watch. The specific objectives will be To explore an effective energy efficient positioning scheme for the smart devices that works with optimal accuracy but at low energy. To test if the application can detect well change of region from known routes to the unknown routes To test for the best solution for energy assumption when using GPS Stakeholders The main stakeholders in this project will be: The GPS tracking and navigation device providers. These stakeholders provide the devices at a cost. We will be engaging their contribution as a way of reducing cost. Normally, these devices are among the highly levied items after taxes and every other charge included (Carper, McKinsey, and West 680). Many people in need of the services find the cost illogical since the return value on investment does not reflect such cost in the short term. Therefore, the people in need of the devices opt not to have them not unless it is necessary. Child safety is a subject that cannot be ignored especially with the rising risks facing children. Many parents, guardians and schools will be interested in engaging the services of child safety but costs will be a hindrance. Engaging GPS tracking and navigation devices provider will allow us negotiate for better prices since they will be part of the project. The service providers will be another group of stakeholders to be considered for this project. Previously, service providers have exploited customers by charging customers on the whole package when most customers are know to only use the basic function only. The customers therefore end up paying for things they did not require and may never even require. Some customers have no idea of what is in the package and may buy additional devices for particular needs without knowing that the GPS service provided includes what they are purchasing separately. To avoid such cases, this project aims at utilizing a basic tracking system that does not have complex features causing the customer to pay more. The services sort for will also need to be able to use mobile network where a common message center will manage the SMS features to identify the location and send alerts. The engagement of service providers will therefore enable us arrive at an easier way of using the devices at the customers comfort level and at the least cost possible. The Government is the key stakeholder in establishing that safety standards are adhered to. This project is aimed at developing a child-tracking device for parents. The children will be required to have smart wrist watches that will be fitted with devices to detect their common routes as well as detect when they change the route. The wrist watches have to meet all the safety standards as stipulated by law. The government will therefore ensure that these devices are safe for children and those they do not affect the child and the parent’s daily way of life. Through the government, the project will need to be copy written to us, the innovators. The government will thus be a major stakeholder in the project. The parents and the children are the main targeted consumers of the end product. The devices will be made for them and we will expect them to embrace the technology. The GPS system will be installed in their smart phones and the smart wrist watches that will be worn by their children. The engagement of some parents at the development and at the testing stage will help us realize any issues and concerns that are likely to affect the acceptance of the idea in the market. Design The design of this project involves system integration of several sub systems. These are a smart phone, cloud server, SMS gateway, and smart bracelets. All the sub systems converge in one system that ensures that they all function as a unit. The design also incorporates a sensing device that detects when a child changes a recognized route since change of route is the definition for danger zone in this system. The data on safe and danger zones will be collected from smartphones and sent to the server application. The design will also include testing for the best solution for energy assumption when using GPS. Below is the pictorial presentation of the design: Features This project develops devices with the following features. Capability to send updates to the server every 7 minutes. Capability to differentiate between safe routes and dangerous routes for children Give instant alert to a detection of a dangerous zone. Allows the parent to make a call and receive a call The wrist watch will be lightweight, waterproof, and durable. The tracker has a tracking history so that parents can be able to see where their children have been. Works anywhere there is the mobile network of the smartphone. The device will have 5-20 days battery life to save on energy, Conclusion Children safety is the concern of every child caregiver. Many parents therefore will appreciate an innovation of a child tracking devise that will allow them monitor their children movement even when they are away from them. To achieve that, this projects sorts to develop GPS track software that will be installed in a track system involving a wrist watch, a smartphone, cloud server, and SMS gateway. The software will explore the child’s day-to-day movements. When the child wanders off from his usual route on his way from school, the parent will receive a notification from the smartphone application of a change of route and the exact location the child will be. These notifications will go through a server that will send requests to the smart watch through an SMS gateway, which will respond with a GPS data point. By analyzing this information, the server will use data analytic techniques to categories those data points as safe or non-safe places for children. When the child is closer to potential danger zone, the smartphone will send automatic notification alerting them of the specific danger, and the exact position where the child is. This project will utilize the efforts of GPS tracking and navigation device providers, GPS service providers, the government, and parents. GPS tracking and navigation providers will facilitate development of cost effective devices that will be affordable to many parents. The GPS service providers will serve the role of developing devices with only the basic features to cut on cost. The engagement of service providers will therefore enable us arrive at an easier way of using the devices at the customers comfort level and at the least cost possible. The government will establish the safety standards of the device as well as provide copyright privileges to us. Parents will be the sole consumers of the project. The engagement of some parents at the development and at the testing stage will help us realize any issues and concerns that are likely to affect the acceptance of the idea in the market. Work cited Calman Leslie J. and Tarr-Whelan Linda. Early childhood education for all: A wise investment. Legal Momentum, 2005. Web. Carper Donald, McKinsey John, and West Bill. Understanding the law. Cengage Learning, 2007. Print. Evanczuk Stephen. Power-saving features in GPS ICs, modules extend battery life in mobile apps. Accessed on 21 Oct 2014 from http://www.digikey.com/en/articles/techzone/2012/nov/powersaving-features-in-gps-ics-modules-extend-battery-life-in-mobile-apps Mun Min Y., Estrin Deborah, Burke Jeff, and Hansen Mark. Parsimonious mobility classification using GSM and WiFi traces.Charlottesville, 2008. Web. Read More