AngelSense: If you need it, you’ll be glad you have it
Now when it comes to GPS trackers, the market is saturated and there are tens, maybe hundreds of products out there. However, one Israeli company, Angel Sense.
By HILLEL FULDAngelSense (photo credit: Courtesy)
Not many people know this about me, but the two best summers of my life were the summers I spent as a counselor in a camp for individuals with special needs. There is something very satisfying about working with the special needs population and I, for one, felt like I gained more than I gave.Having said that, working with an individual with special needs means you are always on alert, and I mean always. One second you can look away and when you look back, they might be gone.Now when it comes to GPS trackers, the market is saturated and there are tens, maybe hundreds of products out there. However, one Israeli company, AngelSense, has taken it to the next level and developed a proactive monitoring solution designed specifically for individuals with special needs.As far as I know, it is the only such product on the market. The beauty of the AngelSense solution is that it applies non-stop monitoring together with data analytics to overcome the limitations of GPS technology and to automatically detect and alert about deviations from daily routines. It provides parents with full visibility over the whereabouts of their child, enables a higher level of independence and, most importantly, gives parents the ability to keep their child safe.Doron Somer, the CEO & Co-Founder, has a 21-year-old child with autism. Doron together with Nery Ben-Azar, the active chairman of the company, co-founded AngelSense in 2013 with a passion to make a difference and improve the lives of special needs children.As an extension to that mission, they decided to only employ customer care agents who are mothers of children with special needs and users of AngelSense themselves, which allows them to return to the workforce by working part-time from their homes and to use their experience to help other families. The vast majority of AngelSense’s employees are parents of children with special needs making the company a genuine part of the community they serve.Also, as the company is strongly connected to its user-base, it created and maintains a handbook on how to approach reimbursement projects in various US states as well as other tips and advice that only parents of special-needs children can dispense.Law Enforcement agencies have already launched programs to fund the device because it saves them money, keeps their communities safe, and empowers the local families and schools.Every aspect of the device, its accessories, and features were created from real-life scenarios to solve problems that other tech can’t. The person for whom the device is intended wears the actual tracker and the person tracking – in most cases a parent or teacher – has an accompanying app that receives notifications and alerts.ANGELSENSE WEARING accessories were designed with sensory sensitivities in mind, i.e., a child that won’t tolerate wearing a watch. There is a belt accessory that can be locked with a fastener and is worn under clothing for those that take off their clothing (very common), and a compression shirt with a pocket for the device. AngelSense comes with the non-removable (for the child) GPS device and a key for the parent to remove it.In addition to live location tracking, AngelSense is also intended to prevent bullying and mistreatment of your loved one. This is done by learning the child’s routine and alerting the parent when something out of the ordinary happens – which can indicate a bullying or abuse situation or elopement (sadly, around half of children with autism tend to elope and current solutions are not adequate to help locate them). There is also an SOS/Call Request feature that sends a notification to the parent when a button is pressed, at which point they would use the calling feature.The voice features are unique to AngelSense. When you call the device, it picks up automatically on speakerphone, so the child doesn’t have to click anything, as most users can’t use typical phones. This is helpful with non-verbal children, enabling the parent to speak to anyone around them for assistance, or to tell the child to stop and wait for you to arrive. The voice features are especially useful indoors where you have no GPS – so you can call and hear surroundings and identify where they might be (car, bus, school, etc.), speak to them, or calm them down from a meltdown.Other features supported by AngelSense include a notification when the person is in the wrong place, like a wrong bus stop, a vehicle that stopped unexpectedly, like if the bus broke down, or a late departure alert so a child can’t be left behind at school. There is also a special Runner Mode in case of a lost child. This mode puts the system into overdrive and gives an updated live location every 10 seconds and shows the location of the individual on a map and a transit report with speeds. You can also activate an alarm if the child is in a crowd or indoors and you can’t find them. Additionally, a link to the live tracking map can be shared with family or friends and even Search & Rescue teams (police, firemen, teachers... etc.).The list of features is long and the device is robust with comprehensive cellular coverage across the US, Canada and UK. What’s more important is the long list of documented cases in which children were saved by the device and how parents and law enforcement agencies are seeing the AngelSense product as a life-saving solution.I was originally connected to the founders of AngelSense by Oren Zeev, who is widely regarded as one of the most successful technology investors worldwide.The company is international with customers and a presence in the US, Canada, UK and Israel. R&D is based in Yarkona near Hod Hasharon, customer support is spread out across the US and fulfillment centers are located in both New Jersey and Israel.The company has 45 employees and has raised tens of millions of dollars from investors including OG Tech - Eyal Ofer’s VC, the venture tech investment arm of Eyal Ofer, Impact First a social impact VC (venture capital) lead by Cecile Blilious, Rami and Yael Lipman and Eilon Tirosh.The company is truly focused on their mission to give parents of special needs children peace of mind that their child is safe at all times.As far as the company and the product, the device and features evolve as technology does. The team is always working on new features, and users get to vote and suggest features they want.AngelSense has been focused on children with autism, but the company has plans to incorporate other markets such as using the device as an assistive technology tool for therapy and teaching independence.When I met this company a few years back, I was truly impressed by a team that is 100% focused on their mission. Since then, they have launched new versions of the device and software, have increased distribution, and, most importantly, the team shows no signs of slowing down.
