When an alarm is raised, Wayfinder shows arriving responders the way to the room it came from, without an announcement anyone has to hear or understand. It also confirms to the people in the room that their alarm went out, and short instructions, such as a lockdown, can be sent back to classrooms.
Safety networks · Schools, state parks and open water
The first minute counts.
In an emergency at a school, on a trail or in the water past the flags, what matters is getting a call for help to someone who can act, and having the equipment still work on the day it is needed.
On this page Schools and state parks School funding Open water
The problem
Not every place people go has a signal.
Cell networks cover most of the places people live, but not every mile of every state. Past the edge of the suburbs, coverage thins across rural counties, state parks, wildlife areas and coastline, and in some places it never arrives. People still teach, hike, fish and swim there.
Rural and unserved areas are our primary focus. Because our systems are built to work with no coverage at all, they also fit easily into suburban and city buildings, where coverage is usually there but can fail when it is needed most: inside a steel-and-concrete school, in a storm, or when a crowd is calling at once.
Either way the aim is the same: get a call for help out to someone who can act, with equipment that is still working on the day it is needed.
Everything on this page is in development. Below is what each system is for and where it stands, and we are glad to talk through any of it.
Schools and state parks
The alert system for a school building. Pull stations, staff wearables and building sensors work together, and the system is designed to get an alert out to responders even when phones and the building’s network are down. It shows staff and responders where in the building each alarm was raised, and shows those arriving that an incident is under way.
A safety system for state parks and wildlife areas: solar-powered safety stations at the trailheads, help points at trail junctions and overlooks, and a view for park staff. It is designed so a visitor can call for help from anywhere the system reaches, with no phone and no signal, and it is built for a real winter.
School funding
Funding is available for school alert systems.
A growing number of states now require schools to have panic alert systems, under laws often called Alyssa’s Law. Georgia’s version, Ricky and Alyssa’s Law, took effect in 2025 and applies to every public school in the state.
Public programs help pay for this equipment. The U.S. Department of Justice COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program funds technology that speeds notification of law enforcement during an emergency, and Georgia’s state budget includes school safety grants for its schools.
We are designing our school system with these laws and programs in mind. Each program sets its own rules and makes its own decisions.
Open water
The hard part starts where the guarding stops.
Much of the water people swim in has no lifeguard. Inside a guarded zone, a trained person is keeping an eye on the water. The design problem starts at the edge of that zone, where nobody is looking and nobody is counting, and word of trouble can arrive late.
A lifeguard tower covers a limited stretch of beach. Beyond the flags and below the surface, phones and everyday communications become unreliable. The shoreline keeps going, and so do the people.
We are building a system for beach patrols and lifeguard services that supports the guarded beach and reaches beyond it: equipment carried by people in the water, equipment along the beach, and a view for the person running the shift. It is built for salt, sand and sun, and for a season that runs from a slow weekday to a holiday weekend.
The open-water system
Three parts, designed to work together.
Devices carried by the people already in the water — beginning with guards, and extending to swimmers and surfers who want them. Designed for someone with cold hands, no phone, and no time to read anything.
Equipment along the shore that extends coverage past the tower and gives a reported incident a position rather than a description. It is designed to be handled by the crew already on the beach.
A shore-side view of the equipment in use for the person running the shift, and a record afterwards for the people who have to report it. Designed to hand an incident off cleanly to the agencies that respond on the water.
What this is, and is not
It is designed to help locate and reach people who carry the equipment, and to support the judgment of the guards on duty. It does not replace lifeguards, it does not recognize trouble on its own, and it cannot find anyone who is not carrying the equipment.
Where this stands
Engineering is active, and nothing is offered for sale yet.
If you run a school district’s safety program, a state park, a beach, a county water safety program or a lifeguard service, we would like to hear from you.