What is it?
At CES in Las Vegas, I walked the length of the Las Vegas Convention Centre to track down the founders of Totem, navigating crowds, halls and wrong turns along the way. The exercise underlined how easily people lose their bearings in vast, busy spaces. A people compass would have helped.
The search ended in a meeting with the Totem founders, whose work starts from the same problem. CEO Carter Fowler and CTO Chase Lemonds showed me a device worn on the chest and guided by light, built to lead people back to each other in places where scale and crowds overwhelm orientation.
“Getting lost, losing your loved ones, everyone’s experienced since the dawn of time,” said Fowler. “And it’s a really emotional thing too.”
Worn on the chest, the Totem Compass operates through light, direction and touch. Fowler described two distinct modes of interaction.
“When it’s hanging on your neck vertically, it’s in vibe mode, as we call it, so it just vibes to the sounds around it. When you pick it up, it goes into compass mode and starts pointing you in the direction of your friends.
“Each person that you’re bonded with gets a dedicated colour on the totem. When you want to find them, all you have to do is follow their light. The light gets bigger as you’re closer, and smaller as you’re further away. And then, once you actually arrive at the same location with them, you collect them into your crystal.”
The idea took shape at a music festival where phones offered little help.
“The original idea came from my first music festival in 2019 when my phone was stolen, right when I got there,” said Fowler. “I went with one friend and found out very quickly that, without a phone or any way to contact someone, it gets difficult to find people.”
The scale of that environment sharpened the problem.
“This was one of the largest festivals in the world, EDC Orlando. They get around 200,000 people over three days. There is absolutely no cell connectivity after about 4pm.”
Design choices followed use rather than fashion.
“The original concept was actually more of a bracelet form factor. As we thought through the user experience and played with that a little bit, we realised that no matter how you hold your wrist, to track that light at all times, it’s not the greatest experience.
“We love the fact that this is so visible and wearable, right on the chest, on the pendant. We wanted to make it feel more like jewellery.”
Familiarity shaped the final form.
“Everyone in the world knows what a compass is. It’s one of the most ancient forms of technology.
“The accuracy is primarily from satellite. The mesh network is just how they communicate. If there are lots of them around, and your person that you’re bonded to is several people away, then it passes along the signal.
“We chose the highest end consumer GNSS (global navigation system) module that we could. That’s how we’re able to get that consistent one meter or less.”
Visual cues reinforce that precision.
“If they’re over 100 meters away, it’s just a single LED that’s lit. As you get within that 100 meter radius, it begins getting larger and larger until you come right up on them.”
As the product reached users, its audience broadened.
“Around 10% of our early pre orders were from parents. Almost none of them mentioned festivals. They were talking about using it for kind of normal life. People want to avoid getting their kids on phone addiction as long as possible.
“One of our early customers sent in a video of her five-year-old using it to find her grandfather at a festival.”
I used the Totem Compass back home in places where finding people usually takes effort. One test took place in a large complex of shopping malls, where movement breaks line of sight quickly. Once both devices were bonded, the direction cue held steady as we moved in different areas and around corners, making it easier to close the gap without slowing down. Only when we were both indoors did the connection break – in line with the limitations Totem suggests.
The more revealing test happened in Delta Park. It is wide, tree-rich, and easy to misjudge when people drift apart along different paths. As one of us walked ahead, the device continued to point consistently, updating direction as distance changed, rather than jumping or lagging. It worked best when treated as a guide rather than a locator: something to follow while walking instead of checking for exact position. In both settings, the value lay in staying oriented while moving, rather than stopping to work out where someone might be.
I kept thinking that my last visit to a theme park, when I spent unnecessary time finding my travelling companions when I should have been enjoying the attractions. Multiply that frustration ten times and add panic for parents losing sight of their kids, and you can imagine the incredible utility offered by the Totem Compass.
How much does it cost?
The Totem Compass sells for $79 on Totem’s online store. South Africa ranks among the 25 most popular countries where the device has been bought online, out of more than 85 countries worldwide, and is included in Totem’s reduced International Flat Rate and Expedited shipping options. At an exchange rate of R16 to the dollar, the device works out to about R1,265, before shipping and import charges.
Does it make a difference?
The Totem Compass introduces a dedicated way to find people that operates alongside existing devices. By functioning independently of apps and network congestion, it remains usable in dense, fast-moving environments. Users follow light and direction instead of messages or maps, an interaction designed for movement and noise. In settings like festivals, theme parks and large venues, this focus supports regrouping when conventional communication slows.
What are the biggest negatives?
- Not intended for indoor use, and accuracy varies depending on building materials.
- Shipping and import charges add uncertainty to final local pricing.
What are the biggest positives?
- Clear, intuitive person-to-person navigation in dense crowds.
- Precise tracking supported by satellite positioning and mesh networking.
- Broad appeal across festivals, families, travel and large venues.
* Arthur Goldstuck is CEO of World Wide Worx, editor-in-chief of Gadget.co.za, and author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI – The African Edge”.