You know how you see a new product or service or design and think, yeah, they totally stole that from me?  Even though you eventually recall that you never actually shared the idea with anyone, possibly because they’d think it was dumb.  And then you feel dumb.

So I saw this product mention on Springwise:

RF-enabled app locates lost objects or children

Bikn enables users to find lost objects, pets or children using an RF-enabled iPhone case, tags and app.

And realized it was the same product I had been thinking about for a few years.  Yes, years.  I even told a friend the idea when I had it.  It was when I was with her and her kids at the beach.  And as I lay in the sand, dozing off, I though, wow, it must suck to be a parent and not be able to doze off here.  Because your kids could wander off, go too far into the water, etc.  The fact that parents ever sleep at all is surprising, frankly.  But I knew about RFID chips and though, what if you could insert one into a bracelet or tag on your kids’ clothes?  Then, when they got out of a certain distance, an alarm would go off on your monitor (back then, there were no apps).  Let the napping commence…

But then I worried not about the idea being dumb, but what if it didn’t work?  I don’t mean all the time, but what about when the battery died?  Or it just malfunctioned? And as a parent, you had become so accustomed to it, you no longer paid attention?  Or someone figured out how to disarm and takes a kid.  Would I want that on my conscious?

Don’t get me wrong…I still love the idea and think this will be a good thing.  But I also personally question if it enables parents to relax too much.

I imagine inventors and people who just think they are debate such issues with themselves all the time.

Tags: Bikn, innovation, Invention, parents, RFID