Child and Pet Tracking

Tracking technology is advancing fast, allowing devices to become smaller, increasingly efficient and more cost effective. This development has made it possible to use this already multi faceted innovation for child and pet tracking, providing many parents, guardians and owners with peace of mind throughout the UK.

Child Tracking:

According to PACT (Parents and Children Together), on average 100,000 children go missing in the UK every year. This equates to one child every 5 minutes. A recent report from the Missing People charity suggests that this number could be as high as 150,000 each year, a statistic which will make every parent in the UK very concerned for their child’s safety.

The majority of these missing children are found and there are many technologies that can play a key role in locating a child. These range from shared international databases used amongst law enforcement agencies to web sites that raise awareness (like in the Madeleine McCann appeal). Recently, the two most developed tracking devices used to help locate a missing child are:

Mobile Phones:

A standard mobile phone can be tracked using various methods although the ability to accurately locate the handset can be hugely varied. The costs of tracking a mobile phone are economical and some companies are providing the service for free but there are a number of downfalls. These include problems such as the handset not having a network signal, or being switched off. If either of these instances occurs then the mobile phone cannot be tracked. Mobile phones are also a big theft target from children.

Radio Frequency Tags:

Speed is critical when locating a child that has been abducted or is missing. Radio frequency tags are built into devices that are carried by each child and a handset for the parent/guardian. When a child has ventured out of the confines of an ‘acceptable’ distance that has been set, the tracking system immediately alerts the parent/guardian and will then help them quickly locate that child by pinpointing their location. Many tags also include a SOS/Panic button for the child to press to alert the parent/guardian when they are in trouble or lost.

Pet Tracking:

According to the RSPCA thousands of pets are lost each year with many never being reunited with their owners. Pets are an important part of the family unit and it can be extremely upsetting when a pet goes missing whether it has become lost, trapped or stolen.

Technology such as micro chipping and tracking is playing a key role in improving the numbers of lost pets being found and returned to their homes.

Pet tracking systems are normally small light weight devices that are attached to a pet’s collar. Pet tracking systems help owners to quickly locate their pets ensuring that no harm comes to them. There are a variety of pet tracking systems on the market ranging from systems using RF (Radio Frequency) tags, GSM (Mobile phone network) and GPS. Some systems allow you to track a pet as soon as you suspect that it is missing whilst others proactively alert you when a pet leaves a predefined boundary.