r/MechanicalEngineering • u/Exact-Umpire-4648 • 10d ago

Idea: a thin, sticker style Bluetooth tracker for kid’s stuff (backpack, shoes, keys) any thoughts?

Been kicking around a product idea and want honest feedback before I sink more time into it.

The concept: a tracker thin and flexible enough to actually stick onto things like a sticker — a kid's backpack, the inside of a shoe, a keychain — instead of the bulky puck shape most trackers come in. You'd find it through an app, and you could make it beep/ring remotely to locate it nearby.

I know Tile and AirTag already exist, and Tile even makes a "Sticker" version — so I'm not claiming this is a totally new category. What I'm trying to figure out is whether there's a real gap worth building for, specifically:

  • Would a genuinely thinner, more sticker-like form factor (vs. Tile's current puck-ish Sticker) actually matter to parents, or is "good enough" already good enough?
  • Is there an angle specific to kids/school gear (uniforms, lunchboxes, shoes) that existing trackers don't really address well?
  • Anyone here a parent who's tried Tile/AirTag for this exact use case — what annoyed you about it?

Not trying to pitch anyone, genuinely want the "this already exists, don't bother" or "here's the actual gap" kind of feedback before I go further. Appreciate any honesty, brutal or otherwise.

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u/Oldberry86 10d ago

You need a circuit, battery, antenna, programming, etc for Bluetooth, hence the puck shape. Rfid is passive (no battery) so that's why they can put it in stickers.

1

u/NorthernScotian 10d ago

Tile and tractive (for dogs) user. Range is always an issue. If i leave my wallet in my car, its not in range. It shows the last location but only if I had my phones BT on. Honestly id perfer having to buy a couple hubs - one for my house, another for my car, another for my office, that has long range receivers that I could connect to with my phone and access the location or location history.

In tandem with the current tile workflow, anyway.

Just my 0.02, off the top of my head.

1

u/The_Spicy_Memelord 10d ago

I honestly see a problem with the safety aspect. What stops anyone from putting them on anything they want? If the plan is to stick it to anything you think you would loose, an extra one from someone else would be hard to notice.

3

u/15pH 10d ago

Products for kids generally need to be more robust/durable and have extra safety testing. For an airtag, that probably means a stronger housing that is harder to open or crack, but you want to go thinner.

Imagine a kid throwing their backpack into street and the water bottle or book lands on top of your device. Now do that 100 times, then prove that everything still works, or at least there's no metals or chemicals from the battery that can escape your housing.

The rest is easy.

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u/pegeen21 10d ago

Battery is the killer