How Can I Build a Portable "Dead-Man's" Switch?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Sunday September 24, 2006 @09:25AM from the in-the-event-of-death dept.

An anonymous reader asks: "I'm a widower caring for my very disabled child. I have family who check in on me often, but not reliably, and not every day. How can I rig up a 'dead-man's switch' that will alert family or emergency services should something happen to me, so that my child can be cared for? Her medical needs are significant enough that being alone for even an hour could be fatal for her. We do occasionally get out of the house, so a GPS type cellphone and a heart-rate monitor watch would seem to be the ticket, but how to link the two and get the desired dialing behaviour?"

2 of 169 comments (clear)

Re:Professional by Anonymous Coward · 2006-09-24 10:47 · Score: 5, Funny

Problem is, this requires surgery so it is not a DIY project

Pussy
Push a button every 108 minutes by stevef · 2006-09-24 15:12 · Score: 5, Funny

How about setting up a computer that requires you to punch in a code and hit the "execute" button. You could have it set on a timer... say 108 minutes.