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Young Inventor's GPS Gadget E-Mails Parents When Kids Speed

by Warren Riddle on April 13, 2009 at 08:03 AM



Even though GPS software can be used for numerous noble pursuits, including tracking lost pets and helping monitor Alzheimers patients, the technolog is still criticized for being an invasion of privacy. Jonathan Fischer, a 20-year-old college student from Lunenburg, Massachusetts, has designed a GPS gadget, called the Speed Demon, which will be difficult for anyone to condemn, with the possible exception of teenagers.

The device, which earned Fischer honorable mention at the 2005 Massachusetts State Science Fair, is geared toward concerned parents, and monitors a child's speed while driving. If the budding young driver's speed goes over the posted limit, an alert will be sent to the parent's e-mail address, or a text can be sent to their phone. Using software developed, and currently being patented, by Fischer, the Demon can differentiate between a 70-mile-per-hour highway and a 30-mile-per-hour residential zone. The device can also be set to emit annoying noises inside the car, pestering the driver until legal speeds are met (though Fischer discourages the function because it may distract the driver).


Other teen-monitoring devices already exist in the marketplace, but most can be set to constantly track the suspect youths, while the Demon only keeps tabs on their driving practices. Fischer, spurred to action by the death of a fellow Lunenburg teenager in an automobile accident, told Boston.com, "My device only alerts when you're driving dangerously. Drive safe, and you get to keep your privacy."

We have only question about the device (which can be purchased for $249.99 through Fischer's Web site): How did it only win honorable mention at the science fair? Either Massachusetts is stacked with emerging Einsteins, or there are still judges out there amazed by baking soda volcanos. [From: Boston.com]

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Tags: funny, future tech, FutureTech, gps, gps tracking, GpsTracking, kids, parenting, speed demon, SpeedDemon, teens, top

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