CES 2019: Newton’s Meter is an AI-powered safety button – CNET

newtonsmeter

The button can also be attached to a helmet which will then trigger if a fall or impact is detected. 

Aloysius Low/CNET

Fancy a button that could help you automatically contact emergency services in case of a fall?

Singapore-based Newton’s Meter may have just the thing. This 14-gram (0.49 oz) patent-pending device can be mounted on a helmet, or just placed in your bag (which can be then swung around, such as hitting a mugger, or thrown) to trigger the alerts.

The water-resistant button can be programmed to SMS an alert with real-time GPS coordinates to up to 10 numbers. You can also press a button to trigger the alert manually. A planned update will include details of the emergency, such as a fall, in the SMS.

If you’re worried about false alerts, Newton’s Meter has been extensively tested by two guys wearing padding to “fall down and stuff”. The company then submitted the data collected to international testing body TUV SUD PUB for certification. A built-in AI will also learn your day-to-day patterns, and after about 150 hours of cumulative use, it will create a profile. Algorithms based on that profile will then help monitor your safety.

An example situation: If a user nearing their home is stopped, the AI will determine whether it’s a possible attack, or whether they are motionless after a sudden fall.

Retailing at $150, the personal safety device has already sold out its first batch even before its official launch at CES 2019. The company is already in talks to work with distributors in Brazil and India.

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