YEREVAN—Imagine if your wallet could charge your phone, signal when you are away from it, connect you to WiFi anywhere and enable you to track it when it is lost, with an added bonus of snapping a photo of the thief who attempts to steal it.
Too good to be ture?
Not for the team at the Armenia-based startup Volterman, which has developed a smart wallet, which secures it and makes it easy to find in case of loss or theft.
Volterman founder Azat Tovmasyan said in an interview with Banks.am/Itel.am that the four-person team involved in developing what they call the “world’s most powerful smart wallet” is assisted by 30 volunteers who are working diligently on the project.
“The smart wallet has five key functions,” said Tovmasyan. “Its Power Bank allows you to charge your mobile phone up to 100 percent. Whenever your wallet and mobile phone are apart, a Bluetooth alarm function signals the information from one device to the other. That is to say, your mobile phone will notify you once you forget your wallet somewhere and vice versa. If your wallet has been stolen and you missed the notification, a GPS tracker allows you to see via an online map where the wallet is and identify the person who has it.”
The team behind the Voletrman Wallet
“If someone dares to open your wallet without your knowledge, a little camera inside will take a picture and send it to your mobile phone. We have developed a wallet, which does not get lost. Once your wallet is stolen, you will find it easily by receiving the picture of the thief,” said Tovmasyan.
He also added that the wallet doubles as WiFi hotspot, which provides internet roaming service anywhere in the world at prices 10 times less than that of standard roaming.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrslPHiz2mI?enablejsapi=1&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&modestbranding=0&rel=1&showinfo=1&theme=dark&color=red&autohide=2&controls=2&playsinline=0&&w=640&h=360]
Touching upon the differences between Volterman and other similar smart wallets, Tovmasyan explained that those available on the market only have Bluetooth alarm and the power bank functions, while Volterman offer wallets with photo camera, WiFi and GPS.
Speaking about the business model of the product, Tovmasyan said that they cooperated with GlobalAm NGO, which helped the company start campaigns on design, marketing and crowd-funding platforms. A campaign on Indegogo surpassed their expectations when in one day they hit their fundraising goals. Although, he said, people are welcome to contribute.
“The production will start after the crowd-funding. The electronics will be developed in China, as it is impossible to do it in Armenia. The leather production and assembly process will be accomplished in Armenia. Volterman will launch the first sales on crowd-funding platforms in June, yet you need to visit Volterman.com and leave your email address in advance to get the product at lower prices. Volternman will start sales on international online shops after completing crowd-funding,” he said.
Volterman Smart Wallet was among the winners of Innovation Matching Grants (IMG) scheme, held in the beginning of May in Yerevan.
Source: Asbarez
Link: Armenia-Based Startup Introduces ‘World’s Most Powerful Smart Wallet’