Wearables have come a long way since the introduction of the first smartwatch over a decade ago. A technology that was thought to be restricted to only fitness or tech enthusiasts, wearables and their benefits are also being seen in other areas.
Take, for instance, family settings. Parents are seeing the benefits of giving wearables to children too young for smartphones. At the same time, wearables have been very handy in keeping track of the health requirements of older adults.
When planning a family vacation, all these benefits can make travel safer and easier. Let’s look at how.
They Can Keep Track of Your Family
Like smartphones, wearables are equipped with GPS trackers. Unlike smartphones, however, they are hard to lose, making them the perfect accessory for children.
For parents on vacation with little children, wearables can be a lifesaver.
GPS-enabled smartwatches sync up with mobile apps, allowing parents to keep track of their little ones without following them around.
They could even allow parents to set predetermined areas where their children can roam free. If a child leaves that area, the wearables will notify the parents, ensuring that children never stray too far.
They Can Help Track Accidents
Health and safety are huge concerns when traveling with senior citizens or children.
Apart from tracking important information like rates of physical activity (step counter) and general wellness, wearables could also be equipped with features such as fall detection systems.
How does this work?
When SOS is activated, the device sends a notification, the location, or sometimes even a direct call to the primary emergency contact. In case the primary contact does not answer, other numbers can be contacted.
For large families who travel together but cannot supervise one another constantly, this is especially handy to ensure everyone stays safe.
They Keep You Entertained
If you’re a parent of a small child, chances are that you’ve struggled to keep them entertained during a long train or bus ride.
Here, too, wearables can come in handy.
Several devices come with pre-installed games or technologies that make them more appealing to children. These games can be educational, so you don’t have to worry about distracting your child with hours of mindless entertainment. A great example of this is gamification through chores– where you can create custom to-do lists for your children, and allow them to earn coins for accomplishing each task.
Unlike smartphones, which are easy to lose, and not advisable to hand to young children, wearables are kept close at all times and are much harder to misplace.
They Help You Reduce Baggage
From credit cards to room keys, parking tickets to boarding passes, there’s too much to keep track of when traveling with your family. Wearable technology can now help reduce the number of items you must carry on the go.
As far back as 2014, airlines such as Spain’s Iberia Airlines allowed passengers to store their boarding passes on wearable devices. To get through the gate or security, all passengers had to do was tap their wrist on the scanner and move on to boarding. When traveling with a large family, coffee cup in hand, this can be a game-changer.
Smartcom, a market leader in the wearables segment, can optimize and customize its solution to match such features. Such technology can help you reduce the number of things you have to carry around and keep track of, making travel much easier.
Conclusion
Wearables equipped with all these features can make family vacations a breeze. However, creating the perfect wearable for family travel is anything but that.
Designing a wearable requires a lot of expertise — whether developing the UI/UX, selecting the right features, or finding engineers who can create a backend platform that connects the wearable to a device . The final firmware can only be developed once the right APIs have been integrated based on the required features and functionalities.
This is where Smartcom comes in. Our team of experts in the family wearable platform segment understand precisely the needs of a family and how to create wearables that actually make family travel both easier and safer.