The Genesis of VigilM

There were two incidents that started us thinking about wearable technology.

In 2005, a woman employee of a Multi National Company was murdered by a cab driver attached to the company as he was driving her home. As I remember the story, the first thing she tried to do was reach for her mobile phone which was in her pocket book. The driver snatched the phone and threw it away.

Later that same year, one of our family friends, parked his car to buy some vegetables. His wife was in the car with him. As he got out and walked to the shop (that was behind his car), he suddenly had low sugar and collapsed. A crowd gathered around and fortunately took him to the hospital. All this time, his wife was unaware of the situation as she was in the car facing the other direction. She only realized about 40 minutes later that he had not returned and stepped out of the car and started looking for him. By then he was in the hospital. Here again the man had no way of reaching for the phone in his pocket.

In both these cases, it would have really helped if there was a wearable device with a button that could have been pressed in emergencies. A button that was small enough to wear and easy to press. Something that would notify their contacts with an SOS.

The quest began to design something that was small enough to wear.

It took a while for technology to catch up !!!!

Yammer Integration is here

We are now hooked into Yammer, a Facebook like product for Corporates.

Companies who use Yammer can now get updates from the field by just logging into their Yammer account. Project heads can now keep track of Mobile Personnel and Remote Resources via their Yammer account. Authorized accounts can receive latest update as part of their daily feeds.

VigilM Capture – Proof and Progress

Over the last few months we have been steadily signing up new customers for our VigilM Capture product. Customers include companies building Towers for mobile operators, Construction companies, Architects etc.

VigilM Capture essentially consists of an Android App that allows you to capture pictures and videos of remote projects and automatically uploads it to our server which files it automatically based on location. Project Managers and administrators can then log in via the Web console to see the progress based on which they can make their go, no-go decision.

One of our biggest customers is a company that build towers mobile operators and runs it for them. They have seen instant results as they are able to monitor projects that are hundreds of miles away. Getting pictures of tasks in progress, allows them to make decisions faster where previously a supervisor or Project Manager would have had to go to a site for each and every thing. Site visits are still needed but greatly reduced.

Here we come Africa

We are pleased to announce that we now have a footprint in Africa. VigilM has signed Eartholeum Networks as its partner in Nigeria. The next few months will see us opening up in Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.

Stay tuned…

We’ve been busy

Its been a while since this blog has been updated. Its just that we’ve been busy re-inventing ourselves. What this means is a brand new web site and brand new products and brand new customers.

Its been fun and its just starting (hopefully).

Check out our new Website at www.vigilm.com

Keep our kids safe

Heres a heart rending story about a missing child. Hes been missing since November.

VigilM is working closely with parents of children and children with special needs to keep them safe.  Kids are safe at home and safe at school. But its in between that there is a gray area.

VigilM allows parents to define Safezones. They get automatic alerts whenever their children step in or step out of the zone. Plus SMS querying allows them to track their wards via text messages.

Going Walking? – Carry Peace of Mind with you

VigilM has started piloting its services to Senior Citizens. Now you know where your loved one is.

When we did our market survey, one of the main concerns for family members of active seniors was their well being when they went on their morning walks.

Carrying the VigilM device allows them to press a button for help in cases of emergencies or just use the device to call pre-designated numbers. But what is the icing on the cake is the “Walk Monitor”.

By “switching on” the walk monitor, the VigilM service automatically detects that a person who is carrying the VigilM device has left his home. Once that is done, the device sends back location information to VigilM periodically. When the user returns home, the service automatically realizes that the person is back safely and shuts off periodic updates.

During the time that the user is walking, designated buddies (friends/family members/care givers) can send a text message to the VigilM gateway to ask for the wherabouts of the person. Reply to the sender includes distance from home, nearest landmark and street address.

Introducing VigilM

VigilM is a service that allows you or a loved one buzz for help when you need it through a tiny wearable device.

Just pressing the SOS button results in the user’s location being sent to upto four friends via SMS.

Easy to use.. Safety at your fingertips.

Launching soon at www.vigilm.com