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A scrunchie that sends your location in seconds debuts at Arganda's festivities
During its Patron Saint Festivities, Arganda del Rey has introduced an unusual device: a scrunchie with NFC technology capable of sending an alert and real-time location to contacts chosen in advance by its user. The City Council prepared more than 3,000 units with a design inspired by the colours of La Función.
The system needs to be set up before use. Once trusted contacts have been selected, the user must unlock their phone and bring the NFC sensor built into the hair tie close to it. According to the City Council, the alert can reach those people in less than five seconds, together with the user's real-time location.
The idea is not to connect directly with Policía Local, Guardia Civil or emergency services. The council itself warns that the hair tie does not replace emergency phone numbers or police services: it works as an additional way to quickly alert relatives, friends or other people selected in advance.
There is an important detail for anyone only now learning about the initiative. The announced municipal distribution took place at Casa Rosa on 3 and 4 September, from 10:00 to 14:00. As of 8 September, the City Council has not publicly announced a new collection point or new distribution dates, so the hair ties should not be presented as though they could still be freely collected throughout the festivities.
The devices arrive during festivities that continue until 15 September and feature more than a hundred activities. Security has also been reinforced in other ways: more than a hundred personnel from Policía Local, Guardia Civil, Protección Civil and private security take part each day.
The Recinto Ferial also has a control centre from which camera surveillance is managed. The municipal operation includes real-time capacity monitoring, thermal cameras and a mobile command post to respond more quickly in the most crowded areas.
The hair tie thus adds a different layer to the operation: it does not detect assaults or automatically request a police presence, but allows a person to send their location quickly when they feel they are in an uncomfortable or unsafe situation. Its usefulness therefore depends on having completed the initial setup correctly and having an unlocked phone available to activate NFC.
The Fiestas Patronales de Arganda will continue until Tuesday 15 September. Those who have already collected one of the devices will be able to use it during the remaining days, but there is currently no record of a second municipal distribution campaign.