People are Precious – Start-up focuses on tracking loved-ones not possessions
Wairco Goods Inc creates Apple AirTag accessory to give caregivers peace of mind.
With the impending release of Apple’s latest product, the AirTag, a Canadian startup based out of Vancouver has created the first accessory allowing users to make the product wearable. While originally intended for tracking possessions, such as keys or luggage, the Snap Case by Wairco Goods Inc will allow the AirTag to be discreetly and securely attached to clothing. Wairco hopes the accessory will bring peace of mind to parents, pet owners or those caring for people with dementia.
Speculation about the release date for AirTags continues to swirl in the tech community with Jon Prosser announcing on Wednesday that the Apple event will be in April, not March 23rd. Apple may skip the month of March and push its bigger product reveal into April instead. Regardless, the date is approaching, and Wairco is preparing like many others in the Apple Accessories space.
“When AirTags do finally hit the market, we will be moving quickly to manufacture and distribute the Snap Case. We can’t wait to bring our invention to the world. The Wairco Snap Case is patent pending, and we have ambitious plans for expansion into many more products following our launch. We hope to inspire both the everyday user and also investors who are looking into the future prospects and applications of smart trackers.”
Lyn Bryan, the founder of Wairco, says her interest in tracking solutions began when her eldest son was preparing to go to Kindergarten. Lyn was seeking a solution that would allow her to track the whereabouts of her child after he boarded the school bus, she experimented with Tile tracking stickers, and was faced with problems. Her son was able to easily remove the sticker and would misplace it. Furthermore, Tile did not have the network support to meet Lyn’s real time tracking needs and was not the reliable solution she had hoped for.
As the the CEO of a celebrated Canadian and US digital agency called Major Tom, Lyn has been a full time working mother since her both her boys were 6 months old. It’s not a new scenario to be away from her kids, but sending them out into the world created stress and anxiety nonetheless.
Lyn’s research extended beyond the application of Tile, and when she learned of the pending release of Apple’s AirTag she got excited. However, the challenge still remained - how would she attach this tag to her son so that she would have confidence that he was wearing it regardless of the activity he was enjoying at school.
“I was inspired and motivated to launch a company that’s mission hit so close to home. There are many people, just like me, who worry throughout the work day about the whereabouts and safely of their children. The issue extends far beyond my household too. I have watched my father in law struggle with dementia for many years, and witnessed the struggle and resilience of my mother in law caring for him... and wondered how or when a solution would become available that could create security for them both. The fear of him leaving the house, and wandering off became an unfortunate reality last summer in the late stages of his disease. I have experimented, and failed with Tile, and with the anticipation of AirTag I was motivated to find a solution with that would afford caregivers just like me, or my mother in law, peace of mind by attaching the technology to clothing in a way that the vulnerable party could not remove it.”
Wairco have been prototyping and working with best in class product developers to find a solution to the problem of attaching tags to clothing. Further to that their exploration has allowed them to develop additional concepts for attaching tracking tags after the release of their first product the Snap Case for Apple AirTag.
To find out more, and follow the journey of Wairco visit Wairco.com and subscribe for updates. Wairco is now crowdfunding through pre-orders at http://www.wairco.com.