Need Help... Beer Running Low... Peanuts Too

Wandering though the SATCOM expo here in NYC today and was surprised at how close we are to having the next generation of wireless technology include beaming your call to Aunt Sally up through a satellite directly from the handset in your front pocket. Check out the Terre Star Networks website for more on that.

One LBS solution taking advantage of this today is a company called Spot the Satellite Personal Tracker. The device is about 2 ½ times the size of a Palm Treo and seems designed as a worse case scenario satellite messenger locator product for the outdoor/adventurer market. The device makes use of a combination of GPS to determine location and then satellite communication to communicate back to pre-determined list of recipients.

The device features various buttons from which adventurers can send pre programmed alert to others, including their whereabouts, no matter where they are. A ‘Check In” button lets users locate themselves and send their location to friends and family to let them you know where you’ve been and that you're ok. An “Ask for Help” button is there to send your location to friends and family for more minor non emergency help or assistance, and of course the device has a 9-1-1 alert button to alert search and rescue teams to your whereabouts in case of a dire emergency.

Seems like an invaluable safety tool for those hard core outdoor enthusiasts… once the product becomes available November 1st I’ll be interested to see how well the battery performs and also how customizable those alerts can be.

The system uses Google Maps.