With the number of human trafficking victims steadily increasing worldwide, Zachary Gilchrist, a determined engineering student at Florida A&M, has found a way to potentially drop that number significantly.
Gilchrist is now the CEO and founder of his invention called safebuddy. The device is a medium-sized keychain that will make an intense ringing sound and will also notify your programmed emergency contact(s) that you are in danger.
Dyamond Knight, a fellow FAMU student was startled by the extremely loud noise. “I can hear this thing on the other side of Tallahassee,” she said shortly after a quick jump in her seat.
The idea came to Gilchrist in late November and the first safebuddy was created in February.
This two-way alert system is helpful because it is an easy-to-use gadget that will benefit your whole friend group, especially when going out. For example, imagine you and a few friends want to go to an amusement park, but end up getting split up. Safebuddy is a patent tool that will bring everyone back together.
Rating the device a 5/5, satisfied customer, Michael Gomez said, “I always worry while my daughter is out at college. Now I have an added peace of mind.”
Step one for setting up the safebuddy is to pair it to the designated application through Bluetooth. Next, in order to notify your party that you’re in danger or ready to meet back up, you’ll double tap the button in the center. If, by any chance there were someone in the group that went missing, you’d mark them as lost in the app and then you will get their immediate location even if their phone battery is dead.
Gilchrist believes that the main groups of people that will benefit the most from safebuddy would be “children who are just starting school, and college students.”
With the motto “Stay safe, stay connected,” Gilchrist is hoping to reach third world countries with this invention in order to reduce the ongoing issue of kidnapping and human trafficking.
The entrepreneur said: “Most of the obstacles I’ve faced come from dealing with everything alone … I’m the only person in this company so I take care of money management, marketing, and even customer support on my own while still trying to balance my schoolwork load.”
In the future, Gilchrist sees the safebuddy company potentially partnering with other technological companies, more advances that include wristbands and possibly other jewelry that makes the device more convenient to users, and even chances for internships.
For more information, you can go to the website: https://thesafebuddy.com