Smart watch 6W4U: watching your back
This article was written by Keith Ryan and published in the Innovations magazine #5.
Back in the 1930s, when police detective Dick Tracy first appeared in US comic strips, no-one would have believed that his iconic “2-Way Wrist Radio” wristwatch would one day become a reality. But over 80 years later, it seems an updated version of that vision could become a fact of life.
While smartphones have played a fundamental role is expanding wireless connectivity around the world over the past decade, so-called “smart watches” are still a relatively new phenomenon. But as more tech companies launch their own brands of smart watch, from Apple and Samsung to Huawei and Sony, their potential for innovation becomes increasingly clear.
A smart watch can run apps in much the same way as a smartphone, providing users with everything from heart rate monitor to barometers and geo-localisation GPS technology, but in a very compact package while keeping their hands free. And it has the added benefit of being a very familiar form – despite being groundbreaking tech, it doesn’t have a particularly steep learning curve.
Thales has created a new app called 6W4U (“6-Watch for you”) that is intended for use on different smart watch models and designed to take full advantage of this new step in interconnected tech. The concept, produced at Thales’ Design Centre in France, was developed with the help and support of the French police force. Among other things, 6W4U could be used to keep officers in touch with each other as well as providing a secure connection to their HQ.
The app could alert law enforcement officers of any nearby dangers or a potential risk through vibrations and pictograms, quickly and simply. It could also pinpoint team members using geo-localisation which would allow the command centre to monitor how a scene is playing out and coordinate
a response as needed.
“6-Watch for you” provides an intelligent link between colleagues on the ground and helps to reinforce security at a time when speed is increasingly of the essence.
The app was launched at the Milipol 2015 worldwide exhibition of internal state security, and was highlighted by French magazine L’Usine Digitale as one of the eight key innovations presented at the event. Thales plans to take the lessons learned from law enforcement agencies using this app to further develop its potential and hopefully market it to civilian customers in future.
