“Climbo” - partner check device in development

https://youtu.be/t1vn9r4NFbc?si=th48IwHe43OpimoJ 

Cane across this video today. It’s not in English, but the subtitles and the video description do a good enough job of explaining what’s going on.

Essentially, this device is some kind of proximity-based gadget that reminds climbing partners to perform a partner check before the climber leaves the ground. The device seems to have a few pre-determined check boxes that both the climber and the belayer cycle through as a list of what to check on their partner, then once the list has been cycled through, the devices acknowledge that a partner check has occurred and climbing proceeds as normal.

However, if the devices haven’t detected a partner check has occurred, some kind of proximity or altitude sensor measures how high the climber has climbed, and if they go too high (a few feet/meters) an alarm sounds indicating a partner check hasn’t been completed. The climbers do the partner check on the device, then are free to climb like normal.

Once the devices reconnect after the climber has been lowered, they reset and another partner check is required to prevent the alarm from going off again.

The goal seems to be to remind climbers to check their partner before every climb and giving them a rudimentary checklist to go through as a reminder.

Is this something climbing needs? I see it as both maybe a unique solution to improving climber safety, especially in instances where complacency is a factor (gyms), as well as maybe a symptom of climbers continuing to outsource knowledge and good habits to modern gadgets. 

dumbest shit i ever heard of (I didnt click the link but dont think I need to)

If the batteries die, you just have to solo. The only way down...is up.

I admire creativity and innovation to try and make climbing safer, and I could possibly see an application for youth teams. That said, using this would drive me crazy, and if a gym required it I would stop going.

I'm not against the idea of using technology, or adding reminders, checklists, etc -- but I don't think the inventor of this truly understands the nature of the safety problem they're trying to address.

I believe that climbers skipping tie-in checks is more of a choice, and less of a mistake. It's not exclusively either, for most people. But to the extent most people occasionally "forget" checks, it seems to reflect a decision of values -- choosing not to view these checks as critical, life-or-death moments.

So I expect the tendency of having a machine giving reminders will be to just ignore the machine, rather than perform the missed checks... Or more likely, to just turn off the device, or let it's batteries die and neglect it replace them -- or refuse to wear it in the first place.

This was a point made clear way back when "The Checklist Manifesto" was hot reading... People will resist reminders because they don't fundamentally respect the underlying need for the checks, in the first place.

Using a control of "remember to do this other thing" to prevent from people from forgetting to do the actual important thing is hilarious. 

Shockingly idiotic.
And if someone actually needs this device, they probably shouldn’t be climbing.