Designer creates wearable GPS rape alarm

A young designer has developed a personal safety device after a woman was sexually assaulted outside her student accommodation.

There are many apps out there which can help you stay safe – but it is not always possible to get to your phone or device in a struggle.

So taking inspiration from wearable technology, Ms Pick went with a design that lets you clip the alarm onto a bra strap or belt – making it more discreet.

“The Personal Guardian is a lightweight, discreet, personal attack and lone working alarm,” the Strathclyde University postgraduate said.

“When you activate it, it will connect via your smartphone to a central monitoring station, who listen in and assess the situation. They send all that information to the police along with your GPS location, who respond as a high priority response.

“It also texts your friends and family, so they know where you are and can also race to help.

“The monitoring station also records all the dialogue, which can be used in court to help secure a conviction.”

As well as devices incorporating GPS tracking, there are a wide variety of personal safety apps.

However, security expert Kirsty Henderson, founder of Personal Safety London, says these apps should not be relied on.

“If you are under duress or you are experiencing fear or high stress, you have physiological responses to that,” she said.

“When your heart rate goes up, your cognitive processing drops and your fine motor movements – and the dexterity in your fingers – is not available to you.

“If you were very scared, you would not be able to actually function any of those functionality keys.”

[Sky]