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The Evolution of Electronic Monitoring: From Ankle Bracelets to Smartwatches

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Photo: bi.com

As an engineer leading the development of a groundbreaking smartwatch designed for electronic monitoring, I’ve witnessed its remarkable ability to redefine industry standards. Beyond law enforcement, this smartwatch has proven invaluable for streamlining healthcare workflows, enhancing patient monitoring, and bolstering public safety. With customizable features and real-time data accuracy, it addresses diverse needs by seamlessly integrating with existing systems.

My name is Kaushlendra Tripathi, Lead Android Engineer with over 14 years of experience, and I’m proud to share how we at Mason have developed the first enterprise-grade wearable solution, replacing traditional ankle-based monitoring with a more dignified solution paving path for innovators and large enterprises to reduce a dependency on original device manufacturers and receive a customized software to meet a wide variety of use cases. 

Our enterprise-grade smartwatch is truly an innovation in this emerging field of electronic monitoring. Built with top-of-the-line biometric sensors and real-time tracking, the device can be customized for dedicated use cases, including patient monitoring, hospitality, fitness or employee safety. A general consumer wearables are generally one size fits most, this device was crafted to meet its wearer’s specific health monitoring and enterprise demands.

Traditional Ankle Monitor Limitations

When I began working with electronic monitoring technology, there was no doubt that conventional ankle monitoring was flawed. What was once celebrated as a visionary approach had turned into a marker of containment—and not only spatial. 

The more I listened to the experiences of individuals wearing them and the challenges faced by agencies managing them, the more I realized we were holding on to an outdated solution that prioritized control over humanity.

Bulky and Conspicuous

Let’s start with the obvious: the design. Ankle monitors are bulky, uncomfortable, and difficult to overlook. The device around the ankle not only creates physical discomfort but also disrupts daily activities. 

I’ve heard accounts of individuals avoiding social situations entirely because the device made them feel marked, like a visible symbol of their past. Every glance at their ankle served as a constant reminder, amplifying the sense of stigma. It was clear that these devices were not designed with dignity in mind.

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Practical Limitations

Traditional ankle monitors face several real-world issues that limit their effectiveness.

For example, while they are water-resistant, they aren’t fully waterproof. According to Law Stuff Explained, users often need to avoid activities like swimming or bathing to prevent damage, making them impractical for daily life.

Comfort is another challenge. Many users experience skin irritation, swelling, or abrasions from prolonged wear, as detailed by Monitor Imperium. The rigid design can cause physical discomfort, compounding the stress of being monitored.

Functionality is also a recurring problem. GPS tracking, a key feature, often fails in areas with weak signals. A study from GW Today reports frequent false alerts due to signal disruptions, creating unnecessary stress for users and administrative burdens for law enforcement.

These issues underline the need for monitoring solutions that are more reliable, practical, and user-friendly.

Operational Costs

When I look at the financial burden of ankle monitors, it’s clear how heavy it is for individuals. States in 43 regions charge daily fees ranging from $5 to $35, as noted by the Fines and Fees Justice Center.

These costs often fall on people already struggling financially, leading to non-compliance when they can’t pay. It’s not just hard on individuals—it also creates complications for agencies managing fee collection.

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Without standardized fees and oversight, the system is prone to inconsistency and exploitation, making things even more difficult for everyone involved.

The Need for Change

It was this realization that pushed me and others in the field to ask: How can we make electronic monitoring versatile, more cognitive, and, most importantly, humane? This question became a driving force at my work, and it’s one that programs like the Warren County Veriwatch were beginning to answer.

Photo: Mason

Customizable Connected Device: A Leap Forward

This smartwatch is reshaping how industries like healthcare, workforce management, and safety monitoring use technology. It’s a device built for precision, security, and seamless integration—fully customizable to meet the demands of enterprise systems.

Core Technical Specifications

This enterprise-grade smartwatch is engineered for performance and adaptability, featuring:

  • Compact Form Factor: Mason smartwatch form factor can be completely optimized for enterprises and innovators with no limitation to its software customizations for a wide variety of use cases, without large upfront capital expenditures
  • High-Precision GPS Tracking: Delivers real-time location tracking with accuracy within a few meters, ensuring reliable oversight even in challenging environments.
  • LTE/4G Connectivity: Ensures uninterrupted data flow with multi-band LTE support, keeping the device reliably connected to enterprise systems.
  • Extended Battery Life: With 650mAh battery capacity, it ensures extended operational hours, reducing downtime and maintaining consistent performance.
  • Biometric Sensors for Health Monitoring: Includes sensors such as electrocardiogram (ECG), photoplethysmogram (PPG), temperature sensors, accelerometer, and gyroscopes.
  • Secure Android Platform: Runs on a secure Android platform optimized for enterprise applications.
  • Durable and Dependable: Designed to withstand demanding conditions, the device ensures reliability and usability over time, making it ideal for enterprise environments.

Advanced Monitoring and Health Insights

The integration of advanced algorithms enhances the functionality of the smartwatch, enabling it to do far more than just track location. The system uses:

  • Real-Time Location Verification: Tracks precise locations with high-accuracy GPS, ensuring reliable oversight.
  • Pattern Recognition for Behavior Analysis: The combination of biometric sensors which can be utilized to develop algorithms for behavior analysis.
  • Geofence Compliance Monitoring: It can support geofencing applications to monitor compliance within designated areas.
  • Movement Anomaly Detection: Advanced sensors such as an accelerometer and gyroscope are used to monitor activity patterns, enhancing situational awareness.
  • Risk Assessment Based on Behavioral Patterns: Applications built on the device can analyze this data to detect deviations from normal behavior, which may indicate health risks or emergencies.
  • Predictive Analytics for Violation Prevention: Applications built on the device can analyze this data to detect deviations from normal behavior, which may indicate health risks or emergencies.

Humanitarian Impact: Security in Balance with Dignity

From the start, our goal was simple: build a device that transforms electronic monitoring into a humane experience. When Warren County, Ohio, piloted our smartwatch, it was more than validation—it was proof that technology could balance security with dignity.

Unlike bulky ankle monitors, the smartwatch is small, comfortable, and discreet—giving people the freedom to live their lives with dignity while meeting security requirements. This is more than a smartwatch—it’s the future of connected enterprise devices.

Dignity Preservation

The smartwatch is sleek and discreet, unlike bulky ankle monitors. It fits seamlessly into everyday life—users can carry on living normally without the constant reminder that they’re being watched. That subtlety helps with stigma, too, keeping the dignity of the wearer and making sure they comply.

Health and Safety Benefit

Another major advantage of the smartwatch is its health-monitoring capabilities. The device is equipped with biometric sensors that track critical health data, such as heart rate, stress levels, and physical activity. In addition, it includes:

  • Emergency Alert System: If there is a medical emergency, the wearer can alert a monitoring officer or emergency services so that they can respond quickly.
  • Stress Level Monitoring: With constant monitoring of stress levels, the system can also flag issues early enough before they blow out of proportion and require intervention sooner rather than later.
  • Mental Health Support: It has a two-way communication feature, which allows supervisors to participate in mental health check-ins and avoid the isolation that comes with electronic monitoring.

Operational Improvements for Monitoring Agencies

Law enforcement and corrections agencies also see many operational benefits in switching to smartwatches. Officers are equipped with a real-time monitoring dashboard to track multiple individuals simultaneously and get automated alerts whenever a violation occurs, or one monitored individual is outside the defined area. It takes this burden off manual checks and makes responses much quicker to possible issues. 

These improvements also directly contribute to enhanced border security by allowing real-time tracking and rapid interventions in cross-jurisdiction scenarios. Early systems, such as ankle bracelets, faced significant challenges, including poor tracking accuracy and limited scalability, particularly in remote areas. Programs like Warren County’s Veriwatch have addressed these issues by introducing discreet, reliable smartwatch solutions with features like biometric sensors and geofence alerts.

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Furthermore, the use of advanced data analytics enables agencies to track patterns over time, providing deeper insights into the behavior of monitored individuals. Predictive analytics further enhance monitoring by identifying potential risks before they escalate, enabling proactive responses to violations. This information can be used to inform decisions about parole, probation, or rehabilitation, improving overall monitoring accuracy and effectiveness. 

By reducing manual workloads and providing actionable insights, agencies can allocate resources more efficiently, ensuring better coverage and faster response times.

Meeting the Needs of Both Sides

The transition to smartwatch-based electronic monitoring offers a transformative solution that benefits not only individuals under supervision but also the agencies responsible for their monitoring.

Benefits for Monitored Individuals

  • Greater Mobility and Comfort: The compact, lightweight design allows for greater flexibility, making it easier to move freely and engage in normal activities.
  • Reduced Social Stigma: The discrete nature of the smartwatch combats this by reducing the sense of isolation or stigmatization that many experience when attempting to reintegrate into society.
  • Improved Employment Opportunities: This is because the device is not so visible, and individuals are more inclined to access the labor market and maintain employment, which is crucial to successful rehabilitation.
  • Better Integration with Daily Life: With the smartwatch, people can live a more normal life and gain more freedom and autonomy.

Benefits for Monitoring Agencies

  • Enhanced Efficiency: Real-time dashboards and automated alerts reduce the need for manual check-ins, allowing officers to oversee multiple individuals simultaneously.
  • Cost Savings: Agencies can draw down resources for incarceration or ankle monitors, given their lower daily operating costs. 
  • Improved Decision-Making: Data analytics give advanced insights to help make paroles, probation or rehabilitation-informed decisions.
  • Faster Response Times: Predictive alerts and analytics within the geofence prevent violation sooner and increase compliance and public safety.

Cost Savings for Government Agencies

Adopting smartwatches as a tool for electronic monitoring has a big financial impact. An ankle monitor runs about $7 to $10 a day; the smartwatch costs about $5 a day. When compared to the $95 per day cost of incarcerating an individual, the smartwatch offers a highly cost-effective alternative.

In addition, the smartwatch saves on costs nearly 10 times more than housing an inmate’s costs at $95 per day. Smartwatches can help reduce the financial strain on correctional systems by reducing the number of people who need to be incarcerated and by offering a more efficient, more cost-effective alternative.

Additionally, these cost savings aren’t simply the result of decreased daily rates; the operational efficiency of the device itself means efficient, streamlined monitoring. Rather, through real-time updates, automated alerts, and sophisticated algorithms, monitoring officers can respond to violations quicker and with higher performance, eliminating the need for physical check-ins and administrative tasks.

Looking Toward the Future

Source: Maximize Market Research

As a lead engineer in wearable technology, I’ve seen how Mason’s smartwatch redefines electronic monitoring. It goes beyond outdated tools, replacing ankle monitors with secure, humane, and efficient solutions. By leveraging the potential of a customizable software infrastructure for wearable devices, we unlock immense possibilities for law enforcement and expanding into diverse fields such as personalized healthcare, fitness and fashion industries.

Mason’s SDK, with its open-source APIs, enables seamless integration of advanced features like biometric sensors, geofencing, and predictive analytics. Its flexibility allows enterprises to customize the smartwatch for unique challenges, streamlining development and deployment.

Mason’s smartwatches are already leading this transformation, and we’re shaping a future where technology empowers communities, agencies, and individuals alike.

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About the Author

I am Kaushalendra Tripathi, a Lead Android Engineer with a decade of experience in creating IoT based applications. With the mission of building secure systems, and implementing health indicators, I have a passion for making a difference in this world. Apart from work, I enjoy finding out how technology can help create a better world for people.

For more insights or to collaborate, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected]. I’m always open to discussing technology and its potential to make a positive impact!

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