GPS trackers are devices that provide location data, allowing parents to check their children's whereabouts via a smartphone. Amid the many competitor products and kids' smartphones already available, Toyota launched a service that offers unique features, driven by a desire to keep children safe and give parents peace of mind.
Children walk home carrying school bags on their backs, laughing with friends, and sometimes taking off running… Though it may not seem obvious, hidden risks lie within this familiar scene.
To ensure children are kept safe between home and school, Toyota has developed the SayuU GPS device.
SayuU’s features extend beyond simply providing location information. The device also includes functions that track the child’s behavior, such as detecting and recording whether they look left and right to ensure roads are safe to cross or notifying guardians when they run.
Takahiro Kato of the New Business Planning Division led the device’s development. Together with two friends from his high school days, Kato submitted a proposal to Toyota’s B-Pro program for new business ideas in 2020, and has since been carrying out the project through the BE creation system.
Takahiro Kato, New Business Planning Division
Toyota is a car company. But rather than simply making cars, I felt that we should also consider how cars affect safety in society as a whole.
When development got underway, the project drew more members from various backgrounds, including Kazuyuki Yokota, who was designing onboard chargers for EVs, and Mitsuru Kawasaki, who transferred over from the accident response department at an insurance company.
They all shared a desire to reduce traffic accidents.
Failing to check their surroundings
Actually, this project started out with the aim of making education more efficient. The original idea was that standardizing the foundational curriculum across different universities would allow teachers to focus resources on more specialized classes.
Takahiro Kato
To understand the challenges, we conducted wide-ranging interviews from elementary schools to universities in the initial stages. During that process, one elementary school teacher told us, “Greater efficiency is certainly needed, but if you take one step back, the more pressing issue is guaranteeing that children can get to school and return home safely.”
From there, the team drastically shifted its focus.
While investigating traffic accidents involving children, they came across data showing that seven was the worst age for incidents. The main causes are children dashing out onto roads and not crossing correctly.
Takahiro Kato
When observing kids around elementary schools, we found that many were crossing roads without checking their surroundings. We couldn’t believe this was how they went to school each day! Even in places with no dangers, children’s eyes are glued to their feet as they walk.
What could be done to ensure that children behave safely, even when adults weren’t watching?
This question gave rise to SayuU’s core feature, which checks whether children look left and right at crossings. Accelerometers are used to measure head and body movements, enabling the device to sense whether the child has looked both ways.
Kato and his team created this function in the hope that knowing what children were doing would encourage families to talk more about safe behavior.
With the cooperation of three elementary schools that experience different traffic volumes, ranging from urban to suburban, Toyota carried out a series of trials and made improvements in response to feedback from parents. The team’s general rule was that customer voices would be prioritized when in doubt.
Takahiro Kato
As we interviewed more parents, we learned that traffic accidents were not their only worry.
What if their child got lost? What if they went off with a stranger? To alleviate such concerns, we added new functions, including call/chat and more frequent location updates.
“If something happens, we can reach her”
Among SayuU’s users are the Ogura family, who previously bought a GPS tracking device made by another company when their eldest daughter began elementary school. As she moved up the grades and used after-school care less, she ended up at home alone on more occasions, and simply knowing her location no longer felt enough.
“The deciding factor in switching was that, if something happens, we can reach her,” explains the girl’s mother. “We felt that she was still too young to have a smartphone, and since SayuU is worn like a watch, it was reassuring to know she will always have it on. A phone would get left on the bench when she plays, since it gets in the way.”
“Instead of wondering where she is, we can check the GPS and know right away, which provides peace of mind,” says Mr. Ogura.
Through the smartphone app, the Oguras receive frequent notifications from the running detection feature, which also sparks conversation: “You ran the whole way home today, didn’t you?”
“Since using SayuU, I’m more careful when crossing the street,” their daughter told us. “When I want to play with my friends, it’s really easy to contact Mom.”
The challenges of developing children’s devices
Despite being a monozukuri company, Toyota doesn’t have any expertise in making compact devices.
Kazuyuki Yokota, New Business Planning Division
Our biggest struggle was creating a quality product outside the automotive manufacturing process.
Naturally, we focused on making a device that was both safe and easy to use. We adopted a rounded shape and materials that kids are familiar with. We also spoke with parents and children in the target age group, and these ongoing dialogues helped us to improve the quality.
Given that the device would be worn for many hours, the team refined the case materials and shape for optimal comfort. The result was a stress-free design, which the Oguras’ daughter describes as “just right—it never feels in the way.”
“In speaking with users, we also learned that selecting colors is a big deal for children,” says Kawasaki. “It was difficult to find the balance between what felt right to us as adults and shapes and colors that children would want to use.”
Toyota currently offers the device in three colors—yellow, blue, and purple—with a matte surface finish.
Working toward zero traffic accidents
For the SayuU team, the current device is just the first step.
Mitsuru Kawasaki, New Business Planning Division
While working in insurance, I saw many accidents, and I joined this project in the hope of helping to reduce that number. I think SayuU is an effective way to raise children's safety awareness.
Takahiro Kato
After finishing trials with the prototype, we received very encouraging comments, with people saying they wanted to keep using it to save them the worry, and eager for us to release the device as soon as possible. During rough patches in development, we would think back to these messages and encourage each other to keep going.
Looking toward our ultimate goal of zero traffic accidents, we want to provide even more precise safety solutions in the future by coordinating with vehicles and urban infrastructure.
Globally, efforts have begun to focus on V2X (technologies for connecting vehicles to various devices and objects through wireless communication). As these technologies become widespread, we will be able to do a lot more, and the benefits will be that much greater.
We want to start by expanding the use of SayuU and then linking our services to vehicles and infrastructure once the environment is established to create a safer world. At present, cars have a negative impact in the form of accidents, but we will continue to develop products that provide a positive aspect: peace of mind.
Safety and peace of mind are things all parents desire when thinking of their children.
The SayuU team is working toward a world where everyone can enjoy safety in mobility.
