Beary the Teddy Tracker is an emergency alert device hidden behind the cuddly and lovable exterior of a teddy bear. Through a series of gestures made with Beary, kids can quickly and stealthily text an emergency alert with embedded GPS data to their guardian. Guardians, meanwhile, can activate a calming blue light in Beary's heart to signals that help is on the way.

What's unique about Teddy Tracker as a help device is the inclusion of emotional comfort in stressful situations. Beyond alerting the guardian of potential emergencies, the teddy bear, as a beloved and familiar "friend" to the child, is something to hug and hold when scared - something no other existing emergency device provides.

For details on my design process, please click here.

A GSM shield for the Arduino board was used to enable texting to and from the bear.

A multi-light LED is sewn under Beary's heart. Another patch is sewn on his left hand as a clue to one of the gestures of squeezing.

For now, the way signals are read between the bear and phone depend on the content of the text i.e. "FOUND" or "RECEIVED". However, I envision there would be a mobile app and notification system that makes communication faster and easier between the bear and guardian.

To observe and test the texting program as it runs, Beary needs to be connected to Arduino by USB cable (for now).

To make it easier for children to bring Beary along on their adventures, I also designed and created matching straps that allows Beary to be worn as a backpack. I made the straps by re-purposing a dog collar and 2 dog leashes!

What lies beneath

Beary the Teddy Tracker is made possibly by a pressure sensor, magnet switch, strip LED light, Arduino, GSM shield and GPS shield. I started out by building the circuit.

Once it worked, I transferred all wiring to a printed circuit board that I stuffed into the teddy bear. The pressure sensor was placed inside the left arm between the stuffing.

To make it easier to hide/take out the circuit, I created a zipper in the back of the bear. A small magnet was sewn on the right hand. A closed electrical loop is made when it comes within close proximity to the tilt switch that is sewn located inside the left foot.