Honey, I've lost the kids!

When I was younger, I remember my mom telling me not to wander too far and to stay close. As I grew older this changed to her asking "Where do you think you're going?" or "Where have you been?" Of course I was always where I was supposed to be...studying hard and not doing anything to warrant her asking those questions! I suppose these questions are typical of a parent wanting to make sure their kids are safe and doing what they are supposed to be doing. But now, it seems like the days of questioning are over! Parents will soon be able to track their children's whereabouts remotely whenever they want to. 

Crossbow's Japan office is working with a customer to develop a system based on Crossbow's MICAz Mote to demonstrate how wireless sensor network products can be used to ensure safety for children and others using ubiquitous networking technologies. The initial system was featured on the news and can be seen in the video below. The Motes were used on school children who had a MICAz Mote attached. The school property was outfitted with MICAz Motes fixed in various locations to provide location data on the child based on the signal strength from their attached Mote. This setup also allowed the teachers to monitor whether a child left the school premises. The perimeter was equipped with MICAz Motes so that if a child left the school property and their signal was detected to have moved in a direction away from the school, the gateway would detect the activity and automatically send an email or text alert to the parent/teacher informing them that their child had exited the school. This was also tested by a group of children on a school field trip. If any student moved out of range from the teacher, there would be a display or sound alert so that the teacher was notified instantly.

So, I guess this means by the time I have kids, I won't be asking the questions - I will be waiting at the door ready to ground them because I would already know about their hiatus that day!