If only you had been tracked
Although a retrofit data recording wearable isn’t much of a solution in today’s global pandemic, it might have helped if it had been the norm, hence the move from certain telco operators to offer mobile GPS data for scientists to correlate people’s movements with the Covid-19’s geographical evolution and predict future hotspots. Nevertheless, it is being adopted in countries where the spread of the virus is only nascent.
The new wristband features high accuracy contact tracing of any individuals who test positive for the disease. The Covid-19 BLE wristband is already being deployed by some countries in the Middle East as governments seek innovative ways to combat the virus while avoiding the major social and economic disruption that large-scale lockdowns cause.
“Our wristband is a much more effective alternative to confining an entire population which does not one hundred percent guarantee that transmission of the virus is stopped as a new outbreak may appear at any time,” comments Accent Systems CEO, Jordi Casamada.
“Instead the majority of a population are allowed to continue living and working normally, and the focus shifts to the precision tracing and isolation of only those individuals who may have come into contact with someone who is infected, no matter how large or diverse that network may be.”
In operation each Covid-19 BLE wristband is uniquely identifiable and uses Bluetooth LE wireless technology to detect and record the unique user ID of every other Covid-19 BLE wristband that comes within the two meter ‘safe distance zone’ of the wearer on a rolling 15 to 30 day basis. If a wearer then develops symptoms of COVID-19 their wristband data is automatically sent to the nearest medical center so that everyone they have come into contact with can be told to go into quarantine for a minimum of 14 days or until tested negative.
“What’s really great about our solution is that the identity of each wearer is both encrypted and GDPR compliant, meaning only authorized authorities can access the data, and only when required,” adds Casamada. “Otherwise the whole system is completely anonymous and collected data automatically deleted after 15 to 30 days.”
The device is built around Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF52832 multiprotocol SoC.
“What’s already become very clear in the battle against Covid-19 is the power of the IoT and accurate data analytics to help track down and significantly reduce the infection rate of this terrible virus,” added Geir Langeland, Nordic Semiconductor Director of Sales & Marketing. “But I am also extremely encouraged by a growing trend among the world’s leading product and engineering companies to step forward and develop low cost solutions at extremely high speed that can help governments and healthcare authorities around the world turn the tide in the battle against this invisible killer.”
Accent Systems – www.accent-systems.com
Nordic Semiconductor – www.nordicsemi.com
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