Digital Trends

If you’re wondering just where the kids have got to, in future all you’ll need to do is check on the computer. Then you’ll know to within four square meters exactly where they are.

 

It’s all in the jacket, a new idea by the British company Blade Runner. It’s equipped with GPS technology (for an extra $150 you can also get the jacket with a Kevlar lining) made by Asset Monitoring Solutions (AMS), powered by a small rechargeable battery that lets you keep very close track of the wearer.

 

It’s functional and fashionable, with a built-in holder for the kid’s iPod, and you can track the wearer anywhere in the world, just in case your child decides on an impromptu international trip. At around $500 ($700 for the adult version), plus $20 a month for the satellite tracking charge, it’s definitely not cheap, but where peace of mind is at a premium, it can be worth the money. And if you’re not at home you can arrange for tracking updates to be sent to a mobile or Blackberry.

 

But there’s more to persuade parents that this is a good idea. You can set geographical parameters of where your child can go and be warned if they stray outside that. Or, if your kid is under curfew for an offense, arrange for an alarm to go off at a specific time. It’s a mix between Big Brother and Big Daddy.

 

Martin Taylor, the sales director of AMS, told the Guardian,

 

"Kids want their independence," he says, "and parents might be more willing to allow them to go out more on their own if they could check up on where they were from time to time and know they would be immediately informed if there was any trouble."