UK based Loc8tor was on hand at CES 2006 showcasing an innovative product which helps users to find lost items by using RF technology and a handheld device. The loc8tor, as the device is called, works in conjunction with tagged items to help find them.
According to Anthony Richards, one of the creative minds behind the loc8tor, the device?s idea was born from consistently losing keys and other small items. After taking a look at the marketplace and deciding existing products weren?t meeting the needs of finding lost items, the loc8tor was born.
?The aim was to have a small device you could attach to any item,? said Richards, ?and have second item, a handheld item, which could take you there.?
Richards said some of the key criteria behind the invention of the loc8tor included compatible RF tags which were small and could easily be attached to an item or person such as a small child, an extensive search range (up to 600 feet in the case of the loc8tor) and the ability for the handheld to visually and audibly guide you to the item you were tracking.
In the case of the loc8tor, one attaches a tag similar in size to a postage stamp to an item. When that item is lost, a button can be pushed on the loc8tor to bring up a menu of up to 24 items. After selecting that item, the handheld gives an on-screen display, accompanied by audible guidance, to where the tag and attached item are to be found.
Optionally, an alert mode can be activated on specific tags and when those tags wander out of a specified range, an audible alert comes from the loc8tor to let its owner know the lost item?s status.
Also, explained Richards, some tags have a panic button which can be pushed to alert the loc8tor user. This could come in particularly helpful for a lost small child or other person who requires extra attention.
The loc8tor is set to be released in the United Kingdom in March, with a scheduled appearance in the United States starting in May. Richards said there has been a huge interest in his company?s product and that they are already sold out of their first production run.
