When the smart insoles are in use, the location of people with developmental disabilities will be shared with their guardian’s smartphone in real time. (image: Seoul Metropolitan Government)
SEOUL, May 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Seoul’s Seongdong District said Monday that it will distribute “smart insoles” with built-in location tracking devices to prevent the disappearance of people with developmental disabilities in its jurisdiction and help them to learn to be on their own.
When the smart insoles are in use, the location of people with developmental disabilities will be shared with their guardian’s smartphone in real time.
Warning text messages will be sent automatically to the guardian when a person with developmental disabilities deviates from a specified distance or location.
For similar purposes, a “walking detector” in the form of a wristwatch has been used in the past, but there were limits and the devices were not widely used.
Those with developmental disabilities who did not like to wear something on their wrists did not use the detector.
Even after the distribution of insoles, the district will continue to operate training programs such as school training and community adaptation training to help people with developmental disabilities gain independence.
“The final goal of the project is to help people with developmental disabilities engage in community activities, such as going to school alone without the help of their guardians,” a district official said.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
