Around
35 thousand people have been reported missing in the state of
Tamaulipas, according to the
Tamaulipas Justice Association; however, only
13 thousand cases have been acknowledged by local authorities.
Against this gloomy background, three students from the
National College of Professional Technical Education (CONALEP) have created a device that could save people who are at risk of being deprived of their liberty.
Isaura López, Andrea Trejo, and Michelle Martínez, who majored in
Assistant Management, have invented
Pulsitec, a wristband that can connect to a mobile phone with Android system and sound an alarm in case of danger. The wristband can be put on minors, as well as people with disabilities and diseases such as Alzheimer and autism.
“The idea came after a friend of ours went through a dangerous situation. We decided to find a way to alert the victim’s family so that they could take immediate action,” the students told.
“Reynosa has become very unsafe for children. Whenever mothers come out of their homes with their kids, they tend to run away at the slightest sign of danger such as a stranger approaching,” Isaura commented.
In the framework of the
International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2019 last
Monday, the young women claimed that the project had taken an entire semester to complete, though they had help from
Roberto Carlos Garibay, a CONALEP teacher who advised them on the proper software and apps they could use to bring their idea to life.
The electromechanics teacher did not hesitate to help them once he learned of the general idea behind the project: “These girls had a very good idea to help people amidst the insecurity crisis. They came to me for help and I advised them on the proper software to use, gathering parameters, conducting trials and such,” he claimed.
“We started working on an open source software to create the app and avoid copyright issues. We used other programs to introduce sounds, messages, and images,” he told.
Andrea Trejo pointed out that the device worked through
Bluetooth, using the mobile phone’s location and data. “The wristband has a distress button that the minor can press in the event of imminent danger so that their mother or a family member is immediately notified,” she explained.
Should the person find themselves at risk, they need only push the button twice and the mobile device that the wristband connects to will start to ring, giving notice that they are in distress,” she added.
Notwithstanding, a
Facebook user has claimed that the wristband was plagiarized from a
keychain produced by the Chinese company Xingzhaotong. The CONALEP students have made no statements to deny said allegations. For more information on the chinese product, click
here.