Parents in the UK will soon be able to track the whereabouts of their children using a GPS device that can be partly disguised as a badge.
The product, called Kidcontact, is due to be released before Christmas and uses both GPS and mobile technology to monitor the location of the child wearing it. Kids can also alert their parents in an emergency with the click of a button, its makers have claimed. When released, it will cost £495 plus VAT.
According to John Bell, the inventor of Kidcontact, a "button" is worn on the outside of a jumper or shirt, which is attached to a GPS tracking device the size of a cigarette packet. "Because the button is disguised as a patch or badge on the child"s clothing, a potential abductor would never know that the device is present," said Bell.
He added that at any sign of trouble, the child can push the button and a text message detailing their latitude and longitude is then sent to the parent"s mobile phone. This is then forwarded to the Kidcontact call-centre where it is translated into a street-map and either posted on an Internet site or sent back to the mobile phone.