Israel develops GPS-independent "watch" to locate lost people in remote areas

JERUSALEM, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli technology company has developed a tiny, watch-shaped satellite transmitter to locate people lost in areas uncovered by cellular networks, the Israel Space Agency said Wednesday.

The transmitter, developed by Mobit Telecom company in cooperation with the German Aerospace Center, is light, compact, easy-to-wear and expected to cost just 450 U.S. dollars.

The new "watch" does not depend on the GPS navigation system, which requires outdoor transmission and does not get signals in remote areas.

In the normal mode, the new device sends its location to Argos satellite system once every few hours, while an emergency transmission goes to Cospas-Sarsat satellite system.