Nissan Develops and Shows "Kids in the Area" Warning System - Will Save Kids Lives
Expanded IC Tag Child Protection Service Developed
-- New service alerts drivers to presence of children in vicinity --
TOKYO (Nov. 2005) -- NTT DATA Corporation, Nissan
Motor Co., Ltd., its communications Inc., Tokyu Security Co., Ltd., and
TRENDY Corporation today announced that they have developed an expanded
IC tag i-safetyŽ Service that is expected to help reduce traffic
accidents involving children, in addition to help protect them from
crime.
The expanded service, which is still in the
experimental stage, alerts drivers to the presence of children in the
vicinity thanks to a voice-recording from an electronic information
device in the car that warns: “Children nearby. Please be
careful.”
Signals from the child’s IC tag and the driver’s IC tag are
picked up
by “lookout spots” on the street, such as electricity poles and
schoolyard gates, which are affixed with receivers to pick up such
signals. The information is then transmitted back to the car’s
information device, triggering the voice-recording. The new system is
expected to be especially useful for drivers in residential city areas
where visibility is low due to blind intersections caused by hills,
house walls, etc.
The expanded i-safetyŽ Service will be tested in a two-square kilometer
area in Aoba-ku, Yokohama City from this December until March next
year.
i-safetyŽ is the name for NTT Data’s efforts to establish a safe,
secure community environment using IT. The other services of the
original i-safetyŽ Service were developed by NTT DATA, its
communications, Tokyu Security and TRENDY. The other services, which
are still in the experimental phase as well, are as follows:
1. On-call service
A child can call for help by pushing an alarm button on their IC tag.
This trigger an e-mail to the cellular phone or PC of the child’s
designated guardian notifying them of the child’s whereabouts and
instructing them to go to the child’s rescue. In the meantime, the
guardian can call police or other authorities for help.
When a child wearing the IC tag passes “lookout spots” on the street, the child’s designated guardian is automatically notified via e-mail on his/her cellular phone or PC.
3. Location search
A guardian can ascertain the location of a child carrying an IC tag using the browse function of the Internet or cellular phone. The guardian can confirm not only where the child is, but also where the child has traveled that day.
The expanded service test will involve about 200 children, 200 designated guardians, 100 vehicles with onboard electronic devices for receiving IC tag signals, and 20 lookout spots.
Technical specifications:
*IC tag: Active type (2.4GHz band)
*Lookout spots: Wireless LAN-based transceiver stations (IEEE8.2.11b/g)
*Installation method: Connection to a cable television transmission channel
The five companies will expand the detection range of the IC tags and adjust the system to respond to increased car speeds based on the test results.
Role of each participating company:
NTT DATA: Overall coordination and system development
Nissan: Inspection of traffic safety services
its communications Inc: Provision of network infrastructure, including wireless LAN-based transceiver stations
TRENDY: System development and operation of the system during the test period
Tokyu Security: Provision of security guards to assist in community patrolling and to go to locations when there is trouble