Former Horncastle pupil launches life-saving device

Leo Scott Smith (centre) with officials who are backing his venture

The project is the brainchild of Leo Scott Smith who plans to launch the device on the market following investment from Enterprise Loans East Midlands (ELEM) and Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF), supported by the European Regional Development Fund.

Tended Protect is a wrist-worn wearable safety device which monitors the movements of the user through artificial intelligence and has the ability to learn and detect ‘abnormalities’, such as a fall or strong impact.

If the person does not or cannot respond to the device’s safety check, then an alert will be sent to the user’s nominated emergency contact with GPS location, health and activity information and will open the channel for live audio with the wearer.

Mr Scott Smith, founder and CEO of Tended Ltd, began developing the idea when he was 22-years-old.

Previously, Mr Scott Smith was volunteer for a charity working in Nepal where he often found himself alone in remote areas facing a multitude of dangers, from landslides to ambushes.

He realised that in the event of the unthinkable, he may not be found or receive help for hours – or even days – at a time.

Mr Scott Smith said: “The idea for Tended Protect dates back to around three years ago when I was working in Nepal prior to and in the immediate aftermath of the country’s devastating earthquake in April 2015.

“As soon as we found out about the disaster, a team of us got on the next plane and returned to the country, being on the ground within two days to offer life-saving support to those affected whilst facing aftershocks, landslides and other potentially life-endangering situations.

“At the same time, my mother suffered a fall from a ladder whilst renovating her home.

“Thankfully, she wasn’t seriously injured but she lives alone and if the unthinkable had happened and it was much worse, no one would have known to help her. After scouring the market for a personal safety product which could be used in both of these situations, I started to develop the idea for Tended.

“Our goal for Tended was to develop an intelligent, innovative and affordable personal safety solution with a global reach.”

Tended Ltd has been supplied with £50,000 in order to help facilitate beta testing samples, create new jobs at the firm and support product marketing to refine and test Tended Protect, as well as to fulfil its initial orders.