AIP Smart Safety Watch
Whenever parents consider the opportunity for their children to study, intern, or travel abroad, safety always plays a major factor in their decision.
Currently, at AIP, we maintain various safety and prevention procedures to ensure that our program participants have an enjoyable experience abroad.
Some of these procedures include orientations, 24/7 on-ground emergency support, central communications clearing house, and crisis management plans.
With Smart Technology growing so rapidly, we explored several opportunities to incorporate an innovative advancement into our safety procedures.
In Q3 of 2017, we learned of a company that develops smart safety watches and wanted to beta test their products with some of our interns.
During that time, one of our applicants Francesca Rossi was interested in joining our Thailand program, however, her parents showed concerns regarding her safety and well-being.
We presented Francesca's family with our current safety procedures and also introduced to them the Safety Watch.
Her family found the idea of the Safety Watch very intriguing, and after careful consideration gave Francesca the green light to pursue the program.
How The Safety Watch Works
The Safety Watch is supplemented with a mobile application that can be downloaded to both iOS and Android devices, and are connected via Bluetooth.
Both AIP interns and AIP staff have the application downloaded to their devices, and the staff acquire the roles of guardians.
The Safety Watch provides various features, which can be very convenient in certain daily life situations.
Find Your Phone
In the event that an intern loses their smartphone in day-to-day activities, the Safety Watch can be a very convenient tool to retrieve their device.
By pressing the 6 o'clock button on the watch, an alarm will sound from the smartphone, which will make it accessible to locate the phone.
GPS Location Finder
From time to time, it may happen that an intern may get lost in a foreign city abroad.
In this case, the Safety Watch is very beneficial to utilize.
By pressing the 12 o'clock button on the watch, the nearest AIP staff member is notified instantaneously with the GPS location of the intern.
Immediately the AIP staff member will call the intern and guide them with the correct directions.
Emergency Situation
In emergency situations such as muggings or robberies, the Safety Watch is an extremely useful tool to employ.
By pressing and holding the entire face of the Safety Watch, an alarm sounds from the watch, as well as from the smartphones of the AIP staff members.
The intern will be called instantly by the AIP staff, and if necessary, the appropriate emergency services will be contacted.
Taking Photos
The Safety Watch can also be a fun device to use when taking photos and selfies.
By using the camera function in the mobile application, the Safety Watch can take remote photographs by pressing the 3 o'clock button.
Fully Integrated Safety System
After beta testing the Safety Watch with some of our interns, we have received very positive feedback.
"Even though I didn't face any problems in Thailand, it was very comforting and reassuring to know that AIP was just one tap of the watch away." - Francesca Rossi, AIP Intern
"The objective of the Safety Watch was to have a fully integrated safety system that incorporated technology so that we could further advance our program's safety initiatives." - Ken Jayaphorn, President & Founder of AIP
AIP is planning a full release of the Safety Watch to all program participants in Q4 of 2018.