PERSONAL LOCATOR AND LOCATING METHOD

摘要

A personal locating apparatus comprises a remote processing center; and a local device comprising a housing, a plurality of selectable buttons for selecting an operational mode and a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for processing GPS satellite signals to generate location data, and a satellite transmitter for transmitting a personal location message to the remote processing center. The message includes the location data and an operational mode indicator. The remote processing center is configured to receive the transmitted personal location message over a satellite network and to create a corresponding digital message based upon the selected operational mode indicator in the personal location message. The remote processing center is also configured to forward the corresponding digital message to designated destinations selected from a predetermined list of destinations, where the selection is made based upon the operational mode indicator in the personal location message.