X-Guard in the Tubantia!
X-Guard in the Tubantia!
X-Guard featured a nice, extensive article in the Twentsche Courant Tubantia on September 27, 2021! In the article you can read about how X-Guard came about and the importance of personal security! Read the press release via this link.
HENGELO – Virologists, football coaches, journalists, civil servants and lawyers, they have one thing in common these days: they are under threat. Because not everyone can afford a bodyguard, the digital personal security of the Hengelo company X-Guard is becoming increasingly popular.
Angelique Kunst 27-09-21, 20:43 Latest update: 27-09-21, 21:11
It was a case that shocked the border region twenty years ago. 24-year-old Maria Beuting from Lünten, Germany, went skating and never came home. She was missing for weeks, and there was a desperate search for her on both sides of the border. Ultimately, her lifeless body was found in a wooded area. She turned out to be murdered. It got Rob Kuipers from Hengevelde, father of young children, thinking.
Alarm button
“At that time, mobile phones were on the rise. I thought: can't you install an alarm there? That if you press a button, a signal will go off somewhere and you will receive help? Everyone thought I was crazy for doing that.” But twenty years later, his idea turns out to be Columbus's egg, in a society where the fuse is getting shorter by the day. Research shows that at least 1,6 million people experience aggression and violence in their work.
Everyone threatened
More than 7000 people now use the security solution from X-Guard, the company of Kuipers and his partner Jesse Degger. They are not allowed to mention names, but the fast-growing customer base includes quite a few celebrities, including TV presenters, football coaches and corona experts.
A quick scroll on Twitter quickly makes it clear that they have to deal with aggression and threats almost every day. But most of his company's customers are unknown, and very ordinary. They work in healthcare or social services, at a municipality or an energy company. “Because, who isn't threatened these days?” Kuipers sighs.
He sees practical examples every day. Youth care workers who have to address failing parents. GGD employees at mobile testing stations. The official who refuses a permit. In the past, this led to a heavy shouting match in the worst case; Nowadays, threats of physical violence are very common. And it is not uncommon for these threats to be translated into action.
Safehouse and bodyguards
But it's a long road from threat to security. After all: the police do not have the manpower for this and a safe house and bodyguards are very expensive and not always necessary. But if you are seriously threatened, you don't want to go through life completely unprotected. X-Guard offers a 'security light' through personal alarms that is accessible to everyone.
Until recently, the phenomenon of personal alarms was mainly known from grandma with her button-on-a-cord. A safe feeling: one press of a button and the nurse will come to the rescue. The X-Guard button looks a bit similar, but literally and figuratively has a greater range. Anyone who feels unsafe can use it, the button is connected to your smartphone and the alarm signal reaches the police control room in case of emergency.
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Emergency services nearby
It works simply. If you feel threatened, you press the button. The X-Guard app then sends your exact location data and your call for help to potential emergency responders. These are primarily people in your own environment who have also installed the app, for example family members or colleagues. Kuipers: “Your own environment is the most logical first aid. They are often closer than a professional security guard and can therefore help faster.” Because not everyone is suitable as a troubleshooter, X-Guard also provides courses in dealing with risky situations.
Control room is listening
If these 'fast' emergency responders are too far away, or the situation is too threatening, the report will be forwarded to the control room of a security company. X-Guard works with all major private security companies in the Netherlands, for example RJ Safety & Security in Twente.
Kuipers: “The control room will first call you to ask what is going on. But by pressing the button, the control room also automatically gains access to the microphone of your smartphone. So if you can't answer the phone, they can still listen to what's happening. Depending on this, they can take action. They can send a security guard, but also call in the police or an ambulance.”
Unconscious
But X-Guard doesn't just help with human threats. For example, it is also used by companies that work with hazardous substances. Kuipers: “The app uses motion detectors on your smartphone, for example the Accelerometer and Gyroscope apps. If you have to clean a tank containing dangerous gases, you will be intoxicated before you can press the button. But if your exercise app indicates that you have suddenly stopped moving, a notification will automatically be sent to the emergency services.”
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Big Brother?
The system sounds like 'Big Brother is watching you': the app records your movements and your location and even has access to your microphone. That's a major invasion of your privacy, right?
Jesse Degger, director and head of IT at X-Guard, understands the sensitivity. “You can set the app to three modes: 'off', 'on' and 'risk'. You use the latter mode if you go somewhere where you expect problems, then you share all your current data in the interest of your own safety. If it is 'on', only your location is transmitted, nothing else. And if you turn it 'off', nothing is registered, so no one can see where you are. The great thing is: if the app is 'off' and you press the button, it automatically switches 'on'. Then it only takes 30 seconds longer before we have your position in view.”
Custom Made
According to Degger, X-Guard is working on refining the system: “Someone who works with hazardous substances needs a different type of security than an official at the town hall. And one person occasionally has a risky appointment, while the other is constantly threatened. We want to tailor the security method and intensity as best as possible to this.”
The rates also differ per situation. Kuipers: “An alarm button costs 42 euros, the app is linked to a subscription, the price of which depends on use. If you want to be protected every day, that comes with a different price tag than if you have a risky afternoon once a week.”
Just like airbags and smoke detectors
Until now, X-Guard mainly works for companies and institutions whose employees have to deal with threatening situations. But as far as Kuipers is concerned, the customer base is expanding to the private market. “This system can also be very interesting for mountain bikers who cycle in remote areas. Or for teenagers who go out alone on the street late at night.”
“My wife and daughter also have the button and I like that idea, even though they don't do dangerous things. Because you can say: 'How often does that happen, such an emergency situation where no one can help you?' But you also want airbags in your car and smoke detectors in your house, and you almost never need them. But if it happens, it could save your life.”
