Smart Gear Management with GearEye!

This just in! The Smart Gear Management System, GearEye, has been released!

This was reported on the Gear Eye Kickstarter page, where their ‘Holidays Update’ post revealed that, after an extensive development and manufacturing stage, this GearEye tracking solution is now ready and being sent out to customers all over the world!

The CEO of GearEye Inc., Julia Lerner, has also given an interview on the subject of the product’s developmental process — so, if that’s something you’re interested in, make sure to check it out! (She shares a lot of behind-the-scenes information that you won’t be able to truly find anywhere else.)

As for this article, we’re moving on to give a comprehensive Gear Eye Review where we hope to fill in the blanks on how this product has changed from start to finish (as well as answer some burning questions you might have)!

Who is GearEye for? 

According to CEO Julia Learner, this project started from a selfish desire. One that demanded that she find an effective solution that would account for her hyper-focus on her career, and not let her forget about taking care of her special equipment.

It has since transformed to be bigger than that now, of course.

Now, GearEye is for all working professionals who need a ‘commander-in-chief’ that would make sure that you always have what you need, when you need it.

GearEye for Gear Management!

In order to later better understand how this tools-tracker first started out, we’ve included this brief ‘help-section’ for those unfamiliar with GearEye:

The Gear Eye App

The main aspect that you should learn about is the capabilities of the app that make GearEye work. This app, when used the right way, can not only be used to search for important equipment but also keep a log of said equipment.

Literally, with a single touch (or a simple tap on your smartphone, to be more specific), you can find out if you’re missing any of your items right away. If you give the app permission to run in the background, it will even automatically send you info (updating you on any items that may not have been packed in your case.)

GearTags | Tracking Device!

The GearTags are peel-and-stick tracking devices that you place on any items worth value (or, really, anything important enough to bring along to your job).

Each GearEye Kit comes with a selection, but they do also offer their tags as separate purchases. So, if you want to fill your pack with lots of equipment you can always get more (the retail value for them is comparably more affordable than most alternatives).

GearEye Handheld Scanner

The handheld scanner acts as the focus for all your equipment, allowing you to track them through the use of RFID technology (which varies slightly based on your state or country’s specific regulations.) It is also meant to be used to input or scan your items.

The Manufacturing Process | The Making of GearEye

This project went through a long developmental process. It was a project that started all the way back in 2015 (with the support of crowdfunding — which gave GearEye over 500K dollars to power their efforts.)

For those curious few that had stuck through the entire process and wondered what has changed along the way, this next part will explore some of the changes that they made:

Phone Case vs. Handheld Scanner

One of the first things that they had to decide over was on the matter of the product’s actual design — would it be a smartphone case? Or a separate scanner?

According to Julia, they had been leaning into creating cases in the beginning. However, because of concerns regarding case effectiveness (and case usability), they had to agree with their crowdfunding manager — who told them that a handheld scanner would be more attractive to people and thus, potentially see more use.

BLE Tags vs RFID Tags

Another consideration they made during their early days was on the subject of BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) tags and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags.

In the end, they decided on RFID tags for several reasons:

• The first is size and battery considerations! BLE tags require batteries and thus are quite bulky and difficult to attach to smaller items. The passive RFID UHF stickers that GearEye uses, on the other hand, are thin and do not require charging.
• Second, these stickers also easily stick to almost any material (they have regular stickers in several sizes for most of your items and metal tags—also in several sizes—for sticking on your metal items.)
• Third, RFID tags, when compared to Bluetooth tags, are much much cheaper. This allows you to easily scale up your business efforts if you need to (or bring more and more items for certain gigs.)

Final Comments: Still The Right Kind of Tool?

After a long wait, GearEye is now finally being shipped to the door of customers all over the world! What do you think? Was it worth the wait?

Despite the changes, we do still believe that the product ticks all the right boxes. We’re certainly not being left wanted here. It gets the job done, and it does so at a value that most working professionals should be able to afford!