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By Greg Bartlett

For parents with special needs children or children who traverse high-risk areas, a new innovative GPS tracking system could be what they have been looking for to provide a little peace of mind.  When a child is out of sight, some method of tracking him seems like an invaluable asset to parents.  GPS technology is rapidly making that possibility a reality for parents.  And with the advent of audio data being available as well, parents can stay well-informed of their child’s whereabouts as well as know what they are doing and to whom they are talking.

Family Safety & GPS Tracking

These ideas seem unrealistic and somewhat futuristic.  But technology has brought these ideas to what may soon become a present reality.  Just yesterday, the Calgary Herald released a story about Leslie Lauren and Kenneth Corey and the work they are doing to bring this technology to Canada.  The technology is called Amber Alert after a girl who was abducted in Texas in 1996.  The device itself is about 1½ inches square and is small enough and light enough to be sewn into a t-shirt, carried in a pocket, or deposited in a bag or in a car.

GPS tracking systems function by positioning a tracking device on the object to be tracked.  This device then communicates with satellites in the sky.  The satellite tracks the device to determine its whereabouts.  That tracking data from the tracking system is then available to the user through a browser-based web application.  GPS tracking systems can provide location and direction information as well as rich photographic detail of the landscape where the tracking device is presently located.

The new Amber Alert tracking system even provides parents with the ability to listen in on their kids conversations and ambient sounds.  A microphone on the tracking device picks up audio signals.  These signals as well as the child’s location are available to parents by simply connecting to the GPS device through a cell phone.    The child will never know the parent is listening.

Kenneth Corey says the devices might be especially useful to parents with special needs children, and already, the device is being used with elderly people so that caregivers can observe where their loved one is at and listen in to the sounds they are surrounded with.  While many people fear the ability of GPS tracking systems and are skeptical about their ability to prevent crime, time will tell whether these innovative devices will contribute anything at all worthwhile to everyday lives.