As in many Latin American countries, in Mexico the majority of the population feels insecurity on the streets of their cities. The National Urban Public Security Survey (ENSU), in December 2024, showed that 42.5% of the population aged 18 and over, residing in urban areas of interest, changed their habits regarding wearing jewelry, money or credit cards, for fear of suffering any crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the case of students, who spend their day away from home, they need to pack all their valuables. With that in mind, a group of young people designed a smart backpack with a locking and mobile alert system, which aims to safeguard the user\u2019s properties or alert in case of opening the backpack. The creation, called “PacPak”, was won in 2024 by Solve for Tomorrow Mexico. The prototype<\/a> is complemented by a mobile app and GPS system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The team was composed of four young people from upper secondary education, who were around 16 years old. In the school where they studied, the Center for Scientific and Technological Studies 18 “Zacatecas”, there is a vision of technical education, where students are encouraged to develop student innovations<\/a> using technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mediator teacher<\/a>, Alan Femat, is a professor of Programming Language and applications and has already participated in five other editions of Solve for Tomorrow – some with finalist projects. He explains that these results are related to a teaching strategy of the institution, focused on Project Based Learning<\/a>. “What happens is that in the school there is a program called Classroom Project, where each school cycle students have to develop a project to address some real problems<\/a> of society,” he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For this, Femat promotes the methodology of Design Thinking<\/em><\/a> and invites students to reflect on their own life situations. “One of the boys mentioned that he had a jacket stolen, which he liked very much, when he was in high school. They saw the situation as an opportunity to brainstorm<\/a> around the security issue,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of them proposed to create a backpack that would secure their things and many colleagues disdained the idea a bit and I told them never to doubt an idea, as all can be guided to its potential, says professor Alan Femat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The first proposal, then, was a backpack that used magnets and a polarity sensor to detect when any of its compartments were open. As the magnets separated, the polarity change triggered a vibration in the user\u2019s back and a thud that emitted a sound, alerting him to the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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