When one of his close friends lost her iPhone in a taxi while in Glasgow Raj Sark decided to do something to reduce the risk of losing expensive gadgets. This led him to think if there was a way to not lose portable gadgets by monitoring them in the context of a wireless personal area network. Raj developed the idea into what would become SmartTAG.
At this stage, 2009, the concept had been validated but the technology was some way behind; battery life drain and cost were simply far too high for the idea to be practical. However with the adoption of Bluetooth 4.0 with the launch of the iPhone 4S in autumn 2011 the technology had reached a level where the concept could be converted into reality.
The company has been well received winning multiple awards and even being supported by Nokia (6 months of Incubation support in Copenhagen). In January 2013 a seed investment from Gabriel Syndicate brought SmartTAG from Copenhagen back to Glasgow where it all started. By summer 2013 SmartTAG team won a second round of funding from the TSB to help them invest in further R&D.
Following this the team started detailed product design of a keyfob device which is now manufacture ready and the team are preparing for a Christmas launch of the SmartTAG keyfob which can be attached to valuable belongings. In the meantime the team have been proactive in getting an App Store presence have have launched SmartTAG on iOS for device location between devices.
The iOS app (Store link) has three modes:
- Anti Theft: Sends a notification to your iPhone when your 2nd device is moved or touched.
- Proximity Mode: Alerts you when either device moves outside of the user defined proximity zone.
- Finder: Allows you to ring your devices
The current SmartTAG app (which is free and currently only on iOS) must be installed and running on both devices as well as them being synced through bluetooth. This initial app is aimed at gaining insight into user needs so the team would appreciate downloads and feedback to be fed back to them.
Personally think it’s a good way to secure our expensive devices which also house pretty much all our personal information. I look forward to using the SmartTAG keyfob when it is launched later this year.
