Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大), the country’s second-largest mobile provider, yesterday unveiled its second generation near-field communication (NFC) wristband aimed at keeping tabs on elderly citizens.
The new version of the wearable device has a thinner and lighter design compared with its predecessor that was released in February and distributed in Taipei, New Taipei City and Pingtung County.
Without the need to download an app to a smartphone for pairing, as the first-generation model required, the new device can automatically pair with any NFC-enabled smartphone — when the two devices draw near — to alert authorities to the wearer’s location via GPS.
A unique serial number is also printed on the wristband to help authorities identify the wearer.
Taiwan Mobile Foundation secretary-general Iris Liu (劉麗惠) said she expects that more lost seniors would be found thanks to smart-tagging technology and the increasing popularity of NFC-enabled smartphones, which are forecast to make up more than 50 percent of overall smartphone sales in the nation this year.
“The simplified alert process can raise people’s willingness to help find senior citizens who get lost,” Liu told a press conference.
Starting from Jan. 8, Taiwan Mobile plans to team up with the Foundation for the Welfare of the Elderly to distribute an initial 2,000 devices for free to mid and low-income families, as well as those who are disabled or have been reported lost before.
The foundation said that only about 77 percent of Alzheimer’s patients who become lost are found within a short period of time.
The smart-tagging technology in the wristband could increase that number to 100 percent, the foundation said.
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