"Colette" is a crossbody bag with a number of different security features that was created at the 2017 IoT Hackday event.
This anti-theft smart purse has a cut-resistant strap, a GPS chip that reports its position to a cell network, and a panic alarm. The inspiration for this high-security handbag came after the creator, Joan Dao's mother was mugged. Watch this video to see this secure, wearable technology created.
Transcript
Dao: So I went online to see if I could buy a purse that had two criteria. It was beautiful and it was secure. And what I saw was one or the other, but never both. So the inside of slash group, it could be your favorite fabric, favorite leather. It looks like a bag, it acts like a bag because it is. It runs on a biometric fingerprint scanner. So it locks to you and only you, and has a GPS chip.
So should your purse get lost in any location for any reason, you can always track it. We made it a specific failing into the strap where it will break. And when it breaks, it releases 120 decibels of sound. In addition, it will alert local authorities to the local police station. And you have like a health warning type of thing. So Digi's processor should be able to send that transmission not only of the GPS coordinates but also be able to send a help signal.
Johnson: So I'm the design engineer. So, I do all the aesthetic exterior parts, the fabrics on the outside, the interior lining and then I also make the textile that goes in between the internal lining and external whining, which is what makes the backslash proof and puncture resistant. Today we've specifically been working on the structural support that goes inside of the bag, which are these pieces that help support the structure of the bag as well as hold the lock in place so that the bag actually can stay closed when it's locked.
Ziegelski: So I am the mechanical engineer on the projects that we have an endoskeleton inside of it composed of steel rods and cables. And my job has been to take what Ty gives me as a design and turn that into an actual structure.
Johnson: While we're currently aiming to have a completed prototype by the end of this year. And then by the end of like May, we hope to have about 500 products ready for retail.