A 23 YEAR-OLD Glaswegian entrepreneur has invented a personal attack alarm that uses smart phone technology to provide police with information on the user’s exact location.
Rebecca Pick founded Pick Protection in 2014 after one of her neighbours was attacked.
And she has now secured more than £800,000 in funding to help bring her Personal Guardian device to market
When it launches next year, she believes it will be the only monitored personal attack alarm available on the consumer market that is capable of sending a police response.
The Personal Guardian will be manufactured in Scotland and will retail at £119.99 when it launches in 2017. The cost includes the first 12 months’ monitoring service.
“This is the first time that such a high level of protection will be available at such a reasonable price. Before now, users had to make the choice between good and affordable,” said Ms Pick. “The Personal Guardian will tick both boxes.”
It is aimed at the UK’s six million lone workers, only five per cent of whom currently have protection through monitored safety alarms.
Ms Pick has built on £60,000 of investment secured from an angel investment syndicate last year with a further £744,000 this month as the company moves closer to a full-scale launch.
The investment is led by Equity Gap Angel Investment Syndicate, and other backers include the University of Strathclyde, Gabriel Investment Syndicate, Scottish Investment Bank and Unipart Group. The latter will also help with the product’s delivery.
The device weighs 12g and measures 6cm by 3.5cm and can be attached to a belt, lanyard or clothing.
It is activated by pressing two buttons on either side, turning the user's mobile phone into a recording device and using its GPS to give police the wearer's exact location. The recording allows staff at a monitoring station to confirm whether the attack warrants police assistance, and it can also be used as evidence at a later date, if required, which could prove vital. It can also alert family and friends by sending them a text message.
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