SafeShe

The Project

Nearly one in three women worldwide will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, yet the safety tools designed to help them share a common, critical flaw. This flaw is that they require the victim to act, press a button, unlock a phone, or send a text. In the moments that matter most, those actions are often impossible. GuardianTrackSafety was built to close that gap. It's a wearable safety device, housed in a 3D printed enclosure worn as a necklace, that automatically detects emergencies and alerts emergency contacts without any input from the user. No button press, phone, or action is required. The device is built around a Particle Boron, a cellular-native microcontroller with a built-in LTE SIM that works independently of Wi-Fi or a nearby phone. A BNO085 IMU continuously monitors motion for signs of abnormal impact or struggle, while a PA1010D GPS module captures real-time location the moment an alert is triggered. That alert is pushed instantly through a companion mobile app, where trusted contacts can see the device's live location on a map, manage shared access, and review alert history, creating a community-based safety network rather than an isolated panic button. The inspiration came from a simple but troubling observation that existing solutions assumed the user was always capable of asking for help. They don't account for shock, physical restraint, or the paralysis that comes with fear. I wanted to build something that didn't make that assumption. I wanted to build a guardian that was always vigilant, so the user didn't have to be. The hardest part of building GuardianTrackSafety was earning trust through reliability. Early versions produced frequent false alarms, and the system couldn't reliably distinguish an athlete sprinting from someone fleeing in panic. Every false alert doesn't just cause inconvenience, as it trains users to ignore the system, which defeats the entire purpose. Solving this meant rethinking the detection architecture, moving toward a multi-signal verification approach where multiple inputs had to agree before an alert fired. It also meant iterating through hardware generations, from a Raspberry Pi Zero prototype to the current Particle Boron build, learning that true innovation isn't just about adding capability, but about making the right tradeoffs for real-world use. GuardianTrackSafety is a direct response to a human need, built on the belief that safety is a fundamental right, not a feature reserved for those who can afford a high-end smartwatch or live somewhere with reliable connectivity. Every design decision was made with accessibility in mind. Safety shouldn't require action from the person who needs it most.

View this project on YouTube