A wearable device designed for young children that enables real-time GPS tracking and two-way communication with their parents through a Bluetooth-synced smartphone app, offering peace of mind without the need for a smartphone. Keeping families safe, simple.
Case study
MIT PDD Studio
4 months
Lead UIUX designer on a team of 3 researchers and 2 engineers
P!NG is a smart tracking device and mobile app system designed for families with young children who are too young to own a smartphone but still need to stay connected. The product combines real-time GPS location tracking, SOS alerts, and two-way communication to help parents ensure their children’s safety, while also respecting kids’ sense of independence and privacy.
In a world where smartphones are seen as the default for communication, there’s a gap in safe, effective solutions for families with children under the age of 12. Parents need peace of mind, but kids need something that won’t feel invasive, embarrassing, or too complicated to use. Research shows that 42% of U.S. children own a smartphone by age 10, raising concerns about screen addiction, online safety, and early exposure to social media (Common Sense Media, 2019).
As the Lead UX Designer, I was responsible for designing the full mobile app experience, from flows to wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes. I collaborated closely with the team to ensure the app integrated seamlessly with the physical tracker, while staying grounded in user feedback gathered throughout the process.
Real-time GPS tracking, even without internet or signal
Send and receive voice messages on both ends, instantly
Immediate push notification when child sends an SOS alert
Works with Find My and lock screen widgets for seamless access
We started by examining existing solutions on the market for child location tracking
We identified a lack of existing products for children who are beginning to seek independence and don't want to wear wearable trackers, but are still too young to have their own smartphones. There is huge opportunity here to design a solution that can grow with the child.
Our three-person research team conducted user interviews with both parents and children from our target group. I participated in ideation sessions where we synthesized findings and explored both physical and digital feature ideas. From the interviews, we developed a comprehensive list of user needs, identified our top design priorities, and uncovered latent needs that current solutions fail to address.
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Accurate GPS location sharing
2-way communication
SOS alerts for emergencies
We mapped how the physical tracker and digital app would interact and created initial user flows for both parents and children. This was crucial in aligning our engineering, design, and business goals early on.
Our research team continually tested both app and physical prototypes with parents and kids throughout the process. Based on testing, we made key changes
Problem:
Children older than 9 expressed that they would feel embarrassed if their friends or classmates knew their parents were tracking them. They also felt like the emoji icons were too childish.
Solution:
We switched to a discreet push-to-talk interface that felt “cooler” and gave kids more control. We also designed multiple device styles so kids could choose one they’d actually want to use.
As one of the top 3 finalists of our cohort, we had the opportunity to demonstrate and pitch P!NG to an audience at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
We received a final round of user feedback after our demo pitch, with an overwhelmingly positive response
"Love the idea of being able to give my kids some independence… this gives me peace of mind without screens, it’s a win win.” - Jacklyn, mom of 2
“The software application is really user friendly, I like the GPS feature a lot. The more simple the better.” - Nara, mother of 4
“I like the cases i would get like 3 so that i can change it when I want to” - Annie, age 6
