An app that helps find lost keys

WE have all suffered that moment of panic when you realise you cannot find your car keys or wallet.

WE have all suffered that moment of panic when you realise you cannot find your car keys or wallet.

Published Aug 12, 2013

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London - We have all suffered that moment of panic when you realise you cannot find your car keys or wallet.

Countless hours have been wasted rummaging through drawers or with hands thrust down the back of sofas.

But such frustrating moments could become a thing of the past after scientists say they have developed a smartphone system that instantly tracks down lost items.

They have devised postage stamp-sized electronic tags which can be placed on those valuables that tend to go missing the most.

Mini receivers are then placed on furniture, the mantelpiece and other places around the home.

The system, called FindMyStuff, is activated by tapping the name of the missing item into a smartphone app.

Within seconds its precise location is revealed, as the receiver is sent a signal from the tag over a wireless network.

Computer scientists in Germany who came up with the system say it should cost as little as £43 (about R500) if developed for commercial sale.

Florian Schaub, a research assistant at Ulm University, said he envisages a “digital home” where we can talk to computers all the time to make life easier.

“This is the direction we’re going towards,” said Mr Schaub. “If you could get the tech smaller, you could use it on sunglasses and things like that.

“Phone manufacturers can integrate this technology and you easily make smart furniture by putting antennas inside.”

Mr Schaub acknowledged there is a security risk associated with the product. For instance if your wallet is in your pocket, someone else using FindMyStuff would be able to track you as you pass buildings kitted out with sensors.

To counter this, the system is geared for strong user authentication which only allows the user to search for the lost items.

Mr Schaub said: “We don’t want to build a surveillance network.”

Using sensors and transmitters to locate missing items is not new. Several US companies use Bluetooth transmitters to attach mini tags to objects.

Unlike the FindMyStuff system they do not provide a precise location but point the user in the general direction of where the items are hidden.

On average we tend to mislay nine items a week and waste 15 minutes a day searching for them, according to a survey by insurance firm Esure.- Daily Mail

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