Once in a while I find a little golden nugget in the vast sea of gadgets that makes me so proud of innovation and technology. In a world that is so consumed by convenience to the point of making everyone lazy, it's things like this that make me appreciate how far we have come.
While thousands of people are now using a free personal-safety mobile app that allows friends to virtually walk you home at night, that's not enough. I encourage every parent to talk with their kid – every husband to talk with their wife, and every friend to make this a topic of discussion this weekend!
The Companion app was created by five students from the University of Michigan, enables users to request a friend or family member to keep them company virtually and track their journey home via GPS on an online map.
The “escort” friend or family member does not need to have installed the Companion app, which is available for both Android and iOS.
The user can send out several requests to different contacts in case some are not available to be a companion or not with their phones at the time.
Those contacted then receive an SMS text message with a hyperlink in it that sends them to a web page with an interactive map showing the user walking to their destination. If the user strays off their path, falls, is pushed, starts running, or has their headphones yanked out of their phone, the app detects these changes in movement and asks the user if they're OK.
If the user is fine, they press a button on the app to confirm within 15 seconds. If they do not press the button, or a real emergency is occurring, the Companion app transforms the user's phone into a personal alarm system that projects loud noises to scare criminals from the scene, and gives you the option to instantly call the police.
Companion: Never Walk Alone – Your Personal Safety Service and Mobile Blue Light – Companion
