The Growth of GPS Personal Tracking Devices
8 May 2012Personal GPS tracking devices and applications are expected to grow at least 40 percent per year, according to technology marketing intelligence firm ABI Research. Additionally, the combined market for personal GPS tracking devices and their applications is expected to exceed one billion dollars by the year 2017, reports the firm.
While a National Defense Magazine study predicts that by the year of 2014 one million personal GPS tracking devices will be in use, ABI Research expects that 2.5 million units will be in use by 2017.
What are the areas of usage expected to see the most growth? Elderly, remote workers, and healthcare will likely see the most growth. Insurance companies will continue to encourage the use of dedicated and approved personal GPS tracking devices to decrease liability. Other markets that will be using GPS personal trackers in increasing numbers include pet, offender tracking, and luggage tracking.
Families are expected to use personal trackers more in areas of tracking toddlers, pets, and parents who have Alzheimer’s or dementia. An uptick in the monitoring of health conditions through EKG readings, heart rate, dehydration levels, and body temperatures is also predicted, with more medical professionals embracing the technology.
Additionally, wearable personal GPS tracking devices, like watches, shoes, and bras, are anticipated to grow as mobile technology opens up new channels for people to remotely monitor family members or others who need to be tracked. It’s also probably that we will soon see a line of infant pajamas equipped with sensors that send information about a baby’s vital signs (heart rate, oxygen level, and body temperature) to the parent’s mobile devices.
Two-way tracking devices have mostly been employed by the Defense Department, but hikers, skiers, and workers in remote areas will be seen using the devices with more frequency, particularly if price-points come down and device size continues to be smaller.
Currently, the GPS personal tracking market may be underserved as consumers lack knowledge of exactly what the technology can do and are unaware of the potential benefits. So, expect to see more ubiquitous, swift, and widespread rollouts of personal tracking devices not only in the military, government, and medical markets, but the consumer segment as well during the next five years.
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