RunSafePro, a Netherlands-based startup, has launched a smart running vest on Kickstarter built around one idea: making it safer to be outside alone. A rear-facing radar scans for cars and cyclists up to 30 metres behind you and warns you by vibration, even with headphones in. One press of a panic button silently shares your live GPS location with chosen contacts; two presses set off a loud alarm. If the vest senses no movement for 15 seconds, it checks in, then alerts your contacts if you don’t answer.
The company points to a familiar fact: many runners — especially women — already change when and where they run because they don’t feel safe. Here, that worry is met with hardware instead of advice.
So…:
Safety stops being advice and becomes equipment you wear. Where could you build reassurance into your product, instead of leaving it to the customer?
Source: Athletech News, New Atlas.
Picture: RunSafePro (press).