Vanguard
India's Safety Wearable
Vanguard is a wrist-worn safety band for women. One three-second press, a distress phrase, or the band being pulled off sends an alert to her emergency contacts, the police control room and the nearest patrol unit, even without her phone.
Vanguard
Press and Hold for Three Seconds
A recessed button on the band raises an alert with her live location, sent to her emergency contacts, the police control room and the nearest patrol unit. There is no phone to unlock and nothing to explain.
What is Vanguard?
Vanguard is a safety band for women, worn on the wrist, that raises an alert with one three-second press, a distress phrase or when the band is pulled off. The alert reaches her emergency contacts, the police control room and the nearest patrol unit, and the band has its own mobile connection, so it works even without her phone.
Three Ways to Raise an Alert
Each works on its own, so help can be called whatever is happening.
Press and Hold
The main trigger: a recessed button held for three seconds. The recess resists accidental presses in a bag or during sleep.
Voice
A personal wake phrase opens the microphone for a few seconds, and a small model on the band listens for distress in Tamil, English or Tanglish, or a scream.
Forced Removal
A sudden jerk followed by loss of skin contact within about a second, which is how a band looks when someone pulls it off, raises an alert.
What Happens After an Alert
She Raises an Alert
One press, a distress phrase, or the band being pulled off. There is no phone to unlock.
The Band Sends It
Over its own mobile connection, with her live location, even if her phone is snatched or out of charge.
Help Is on Its Way
The alert reaches her emergency contacts, the police control room and the nearest patrol unit.
A False Alarm Is Easy to Stop
She cancels it with her PIN in the companion app.
How Often Her Location Updates
Once an alert is raised, the band keeps sending her location so responders can follow her. The faster she moves, the more often it updates. Indoors, where satellite positioning fails, it switches to mobile-tower and Wi-Fi positioning and says how accurate each position is.
- when she is standing still
- Every 1–2 min
- while she is walking
- Every 15–30 s
- when she is in a vehicle
- Every 5–10 s
Built for the Moment Fear Takes Over
Why a Phone App Is Not Enough
An emergency app asks for a sequence of steps: unlock the phone, find the app, open it, press, and often explain what is happening to a stranger. Acute fear narrows attention and weakens fine motor control, so every step is a point of failure. Many people freeze: in a Swedish study of sexual assault survivors, about 70% reported significant tonic immobility (Möller et al., 2017).
A single press removes those steps. It also lets her raise an alert early, while she is being followed or a cab has gone off its route, when help can still prevent harm.
Privacy by Design
Voice is processed on the band itself; there is no cloud classifier. The few seconds of audio checked after the wake phrase are discarded unless they are classified as distress. A false alarm is cancelled with her PIN in the companion app.
App-Based SOS Compared with Vanguard
| App-Based SOS | Vanguard | |
|---|---|---|
| Steps to alert | Unlock the phone, find and open the app, press; or dial and explain | One three-second press |
| If she freezes or is held | Rarely possible: needs deliberate action and often speech | A distress phrase, or the band raises the alert if it is pulled off |
| Explaining to a stranger | Needed, and she must judge if it is serious enough | Not needed: the alert is the message |
| If the phone is snatched or dead | The alert fails | Still works: the band has its own connection |
| Deterrence | Invisible: nobody knows she has the app | Visible: the band signals that help is one press away |
How We Got Here: Prototype Builds
Before the V1 band, we built and tested the ideas behind it as separate prototypes: a one-click key fob, a voice-activated band and a band that raises the alert on its own. Each was photographed as built and can be demonstrated in person.
Roadmap
Planned, not yet in the V1 band.
On-device AI auto-trigger: raising an alert on its own when she cannot press the button, building on the auto-trigger prototype.
Senior safety: the same SOS design for elderly people who live alone.
At a Glance
| Made by | Lenor Ventures Private Limited |
|---|---|
| What it is | Wrist-worn safety band for women |
| Alerts | Emergency contacts, the police control room and the nearest patrol unit |
| Main trigger | Press and hold for three seconds |
| Other triggers | Distress phrase in Tamil, English or Tanglish; forced removal |
| Connection | Own mobile (LTE-M) and positioning link; Bluetooth to the companion app |
| Voice processing | On the band, not in the cloud |
| Status | V1 band in development; prototype builds can be demonstrated |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who does a Vanguard alert reach?
- The wearer’s emergency contacts, the police control room and the nearest patrol unit.
Does Vanguard need a phone to send an alert?
- No. The band has its own mobile and positioning connection, so an alert goes out even if her phone is snatched, in a bag or out of charge. The companion app is used for settings and to cancel an alert with her PIN.
What if someone pulls the band off?
- The band detects a sudden jerk followed by loss of skin contact within about a second and raises an alert.
Is the band always listening?
- Only for her wake phrase. After it, a few seconds of audio are checked on the band for distress; anything else is discarded and nothing is sent to the cloud.
Is Vanguard only for women?
- The V1 band is designed for women’s safety. Senior safety, for elderly people who live alone, is on the roadmap.
Can I see Vanguard working?
- Yes. The prototype builds can be demonstrated in person. Contact us to arrange a demonstration.