Chinese govt gives GPS-enabled smartwatches to 17,000 school children to track them

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New Delhi: Chinese government has given GPS-enabled smartwatches to 17,000 school children of 60 elementary school, with a view to let their parents keep a track on their movement, a Chinese media report said.

According to a report in the Guangzhou Daily the southern city of Guangzhou has distributed these watches, dubbing them“Safe Campus Smartwatches”. The wearables are linked into China’s new version of the GPS tracking system BeiDou and can track children wearing them within 10 meters.

Parents can monitor the location of their children and will also be getting notification if the child sends out an emergency or SoS alert.

The watch can also send alert to partents if their children are too close to any water body, thus preventing the possible risk of drowning.

As per an International Data Corporation (IDC) report, the wearable market is expected to reach global shipments of 222.9 million units in 2019 with earwear and watches accounting for more than 70 percent of all wearable shipments by 2023.

Currently, Chinese brands such as Xiaomi and Huawei have been leading the wristband wearable market and more than half of all wristbands are expected to be shipped in China.

With IANS Inputs