The idea for a UK AI start-up grew when its founder found his personal safety compromised during the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.
Five years ago Leo Scott Smith worked for a charity that was dedicated to improving lives within the poorer communities of Nepal.
After the devastating 2015 earthquakes in the country, there were aftershocks, landslides and even ambushes which put his personal safety on the line.
鈥淎s I was often alone in remote areas, I realised that, if the unthinkable happened, I may not be found for hours, or even days,鈥� he told 老九品茶Cloud.
鈥淎t the same time, my mother fell from a ladder at home in the UK while renovating her house. Although she wasn鈥檛 badly injured, it could have been much, much worse, especially as she lives alone.
鈥淏oth of these events sparked the idea for the creation of a simple, wearable tech solution that could be used by any person that may have to spend extended periods alone.鈥�
Personal safety has been a problem that has been approached by various different technologies over the years.
Scott Smith started to search the market to see what already existed for isolated people at home, plus people such as charity workers, travellers, explorers or hikers who may find themselves cut off from others, and who could be at risk.
鈥淭here was a huge gap in the market,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll existing personal safety products for individuals or for employers/employees were large and bulky, used basic technology which either relied on manual activation or heavily manned call centres which, as well as regularly resulting in false alarms, made the solutions very expensive.
鈥淭his inspired the idea behind Tended and the development of our intelligent safety solutions began. After considering the idea for a couple of years, I decided to start the process of turning the concept into a business.鈥�
The Tended Protect wearable can be used by individuals or by companies who want to protect their most important asset: their employees.
Using artificial intelligence, Tended Protect detects accidents including slips, trips, impacts and falls, as well as long periods of no movement. It also allows the wearer to check in at various intervals, and sends SOS calls to specified contacts.
From an employer perspective, Tended鈥檚 monitoring panel provides notifications if an employee has had an accident, requests their location, and provides a full overview of the workforce at the touch of a button.
In just 22 months, Tended has grown to a 24-strong team, sold products in 11 different countries, secured pilots with some of the world鈥檚 largest companies and insurance providers, received over 拢1.4m in funding and has recently been named one of the UK鈥檚 most innovative and exciting early stage tech companies by Tech Nation.
鈥淲e brought on our first three employees in August 2017 and since then the company has gone from strength to strength,鈥� said Scott聽Smith.
鈥淓ssentially, we are on a mission to improve the safety of millions using technology.鈥�