| Can't find your wallet or keychain, your dog decided to disappear just when you need to go out? The British company Loc8tor thinks it has just the right solution for you – a small gadget which uses RFID technology to precisely identify objects carrying a small tag from as far as 183 meters (600 feet) away. |
 |
| The Loc8tor is a small 11.0cm (4.3”) high x 5.3cm (2.1”) wide x 1.6cm (0.6”) deep handheld device which can locate up to 24 (and soon up to 6000) tags with a claimed precision of 2.5cm (1”). The device uses RFID 2.45GHz ISM frequency band and can locate objects behind walls and other obstacles (with reduced range). The Loc8tor can specifically identify each tag which can be given a name (for instance "wallet" or "Snoopy"). The tags are minute and operate via active RFID and so require LR54 batteries (used primarily in watches). The Loc8tor itself uses 2XAAA batteries and has an indicator for showing when batteries on each tag or the device itself should need to be replaced. The Loc8tor displays the general direction of where a specific tag is located accompanied by a high pitch sound (up to 90dB) which gets stronger as you get closer and closer to the tag. The Loc8tor can also tell if the tag is located higher or lower than your current position which can be very helpful when you are looking for an object in an apartment with several levels. The Loc8tor has two types of tags: homing and panic. The homing tag use audio beep and flashing LED to help guide you to their location and have two modes alert which let you know when the tag and the Loc8tor have over a certain distance between them and a locate mode which is silent until you decide to look for the object. The panic tag has all the features of the homing tag plus a small bottom in the center which lets the person holding the tag (a small child for instance) alert the Loc8tor holder of a problem. The Loc8tor developers apparently also though of the possibility that the Loc8tor itself will get lost and suggested using the panic bottom to locate it. However if you loose both the panic bottom and the Loc8tor then we guess you just got it coming. The Loc8tor starts at about 100$ and each set of two tags will cost you additional 50$. More information on the Loc8tor can be found (without the Loc8tor) on the company website. |
RFID Loc8tor - TFOT
