Key finder

Key Finders, also known as Keyfinders or Key Locators or Electronic Finders, are small electronic devices used to recover misplaced or lost key sets. Their goal is to reduce the time it takes to locate keys or other personal items, while remaining unobtrusive. Some key finders beep on-demand.

First Generation Key Finders

The first generation key finders were sound based, they listened for a clap or a whistle (or a sequence of same) then beeped to the user to find them. Determining what was a clap or a whistle proved difficult, resulting in poor performance and false alarms. As a result of this low quality and reliability, these early key finders were soon discarded and were unpopular for serious needs.

Second Generation Key Finders

Second Generation Key finders eliminated the problem of false alarms, and some have fairly long battery lives. As electronics became smaller and cheaper, radio became viable to locate the keys which were fitted with a small receiver. A separate transmitter is used to activate the receiver(s). All wireless key finders have to "listen" for a searching transmission, resulting in battery replacement at intervals ranging from 3 months to a year. Some distributors include a cost-effective key-return service and return service, that assists in returning the keys should they be lost in a taxi, bus or other public place, provided the customer registered their details. The transmitter can also contain information to help return card to its rightful owner.

Third Generation Key Finders

The latest third generation key finders no longer require a separate "base" - they are all functionally identical and based on a peer-to-peer system where each can find all the others individually. The user can, for example, use a wallet to find misplaced keys and vice versa, or a cell phone to find a lost TV remote control. In addition, since each has its own transmitter, it can reply by radio as well as beeping and flashing a light to attract attention. The seeking unit can then follow this beacon to find even a buried set of keys. Having a transmitter in each unit also means that, unlike second generation units,losing the single transmitter does not result in total loss of all items.

Uses for Key Finders

Typical Key Finder user-experience

A key finder is to have the device attached to a set of keys, and if these keys are lost, or misplaced, an action is performed - such as clapping, pressing a button on a locator device. The most basic function of a modern keyfinder device is it should i) beep, or ii) flash a light, or iii) or somehow guide a user towards the lost item.

Key finders have also been found to be useful to the visually challenged as well as those with memory problems or illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease or Attention Deficit disorders, ADHD. Military Veterans suffering from Post-traumatic Stress Disorder are finding key finders useful in combating the memory effects of the disease.

Modern life requires most urban dwellings, cars and offices, to be generally accessed via a key. The stress, cost and inconvenience of losing ones key to those environments is high.

Key finders are a practical way of alleviating these effects.

Novel uses for key finders

Key finder devices

Numerous key finder devices are available on the marketplace, including those listed below and those further below, which are currently being tested by Find My Stuff for compatibility with Find My Stuff software:

Some other Bluetooth tracking devices and iBeacons, which are available for purchase and which Find My Stuff is testing as of 14 April 2016, include those listed below.

[26]

References

  1. ↑ Bruce, James (November 9, 2015). "With Find My Stuff, Nothing Will Ever Go Missing Again". With Find My Stuff, Nothing Will Ever Go Missing Again.
  2. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  3. ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Tile, The Lost-Item Tracker With Millions In Crowdfunding, Was Worth The Wait". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  4. ↑ Bruce, James (November 9, 2015). "With Find My Stuff, Nothing Will Ever Go Missing Again". With Find My Stuff, Nothing Will Ever Go Missing Again.
  5. ↑ Bruce, James (November 9, 2015). "With Find My Stuff, Nothing Will Ever Go Missing Again". Find My Stuff.
  6. ↑ "Buy Bluetooth tracking devices and iBeacons (We are testing many different Bluetooth tracking devices and iBeacons, here is the list of Bluetooth beacons and iBeacons which showed the best results during tests". fstuff.com. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  7. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  8. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  9. ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Tile, The Lost-Item Tracker With Millions In Crowdfunding, Was Worth The Wait". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  10. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  11. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  12. ↑ "StickNFind – Bluetooth Powered ultra small Location Stickers". Indiegogo. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  13. ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Tile, The Lost-Item Tracker With Millions In Crowdfunding, Was Worth The Wait". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  14. ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Tile, The Lost-Item Tracker With Millions In Crowdfunding, Was Worth The Wait". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  15. ↑ Herrmann, Joshi (August 13, 2015). "Wistiki and Tile: the app-based trackers that are changing the way we find our possessions (Sick of losing your keys? Tracker tabs may well be the answer)". EveningStandard (London).
  16. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  17. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  18. ↑ "TrackR Official Website". buy.thetrackr.co. Retrieved November 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Tile, The Lost-Item Tracker With Millions In Crowdfunding, Was Worth The Wait". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Buy Bluetooth tracking devices and iBeacons (We are testing many different Bluetooth tracking devices and iBeacons, here is the list of Bluetooth beacons and iBeacons which showed the best results during tests". Find My Stuff. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  21. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  22. ↑ Perez, Sarah. "Tile, The Lost-Item Tracker With Millions In Crowdfunding, Was Worth The Wait". TechCrunch. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  23. ↑ Chokkattu, Julian (January 14, 2016). "Wistiki is a stylish tracker that helps you find your lost devices". DigitalTrends.
  24. ↑ Herrmann, Joshi (August 13, 2015). "Wistiki and Tile: the app-based trackers that are changing the way we find our possessions (Sick of losing your keys? Tracker tabs may well be the answer)". EveningStandard (London).
  25. ↑ Guy, Nick (March 16, 2016). "The Best Bluetooth Tracker". The Wirecutter.
  26. ↑ "Buy Bluetooth tracking devices and iBeacons (We are testing many different Bluetooth tracking devices and iBeacons, here is the list of Bluetooth beacons and iBeacons which showed the best results during tests". Find My Stuff. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Find Out More: Beacons". Find My Stuff. April 16, 2016.

Bibliography

External links

Links for Key Finders available. If you know more - Please add and leave for the many patients and their caregivers who need to find them.

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