5 Technologies Designed to Help Humans Deal with COVID-19

As our world has gone viral in the worst way, innovators are busy creating new technologies and devices to support people while mitigating spread. Thanks to the great work of Springwise, a source of current innovations and ground-breaking ideas, we’ve compiled a list of five creative products with excerpts from the original stories (links in headlines). Enjoy, click through and share. Let’s create a safer, better world.

1 - BRACELET HELPS ENFORCE SOCIAL DISTANCING FOR THOSE RETURNING TO THE WORKPLACE

A digital bracelet monitors employees’ location and sends a warning if they get too close to each other

Rombit has created the Romware Covid Radius, a digital bracelet that ensures social distancing and also allows contact tracing. Rombit developed the bracelet by adapting its existing logistics bracelet, the Romware One, used to manage logistics in the workplace. The company added new functions to the Romware One so that whenever employees come closer to each other than 1.5 metres, they feel a vibration and receive a visual warning signal. Employers can also set an upper limit on the number of employees who may be inside a specific area at the same time, alerting managers in real-time when the limit has been passed.

The bracelets connect using Ultra-Wideband, which does not require a data connection, so there is no localisation or transfer of any personal data. However, it is possible to use the bracelets with a data connection, in order to trace the contacts of people who test positive for COVID-19. In this event, additional privacy features, such as encryption and deletion of data after 14 days, are used. The Radius is currently in use at the Port of Antwerp, where it is hoped the bracelet will allow workers to stay safe. 

2 - IN-STORE DEVICE ENSURES SOCIAL-DISTANCING

The SmartDome reads out warning messages with the aim of helping essential retailers still open during the pandemic to enforce the rules of social-distancing

San Diego based Indyme specializes in shopper engagement and loss prevention. The SmartDome is easy to install and able to be adapted for checkouts, counters, entrances and busy parts of the shop. It is similar to a security camera, and it watches customers and sends out messages if they are disobeying the rules of social-distancing, such as “for your safety, please maintain at least six feet of social distance”.

3 - NO-TOUCH DELIVERY PLATFORM PROTECTS AGAINST SPREADING VIRUSES

A delivery company has developed a no-touch delivery system that allows consumers to sign for packages using their own phones

Logistics company AxleHire has created a suite of tools that enables consumers to sign for their deliveries using a mobile device, allowing them to avoid touching the driver’s mobile device or even opening the door. The companies’ app also allows users to sign for a package before it is delivered, opt-out of in-person delivery, and update their delivery instructions to include building access codes, all in real-time.

Founded in 2015, AxleHire is a last-mile logistics company that works with companies such as Ikea and HelloFresh to provide scalable, cost-effective deliveries. The new app will allow the company to continue operating with improved safety during the crisis.

4- A SOCIAL-DISTANCING SENSOR FOR WORKERS RETURNING FROM LOCKDOWN

A new sensor uses AI and machine learning to help people keep a safe distance from one another and prevent transmission of coronavirus

Developed by SmartEagle, a spin-off of the Internet of Things developer Evalan, the distance sensor uses optical sensors to measure the number of people in a room, and how far apart they are. The sensor sounds an alarm when people are closer than 1.4 metres, with options including a traffic light that turns orange or red, or a notification that appears on users’ phones, to avoid a room full of ringing alarms.

The sensor uses AI and has been trained to tell the difference between people and other objects, such as coffee cups and chairs, using machine learning. Another benefit of the sensor is that no data is recorded, so a users’ privacy is protected at all times. 

The SmartEagle was actually developed as a part of the company’s smart building solution platform. It was designed to determine whether a room was in use or not so that lighting and temperature could be automatically adjusted. However, the company has adopted this technology into the portable Distance Sensor.

5 - HANDS-FREE DOOR HANDLE COULD PREVENT SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS

The design of the device, which can be 3D-printed in under three hours, adapts door handles to be opened without hands

London-based architectural designers, Ivo Tedbury and Freddie Hong, have created a 3D-printed device that adapts door handles to be opened without the use of hands, with the aim to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The pair, who met while studying architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, came up with the design as a way to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. The design consists of a curved plastic device that can be attached to fire escape-style pull door handles with cable ties. Instead of using hands to open a door, users can loop their arm through the adaptor and pull the door open.

In addition to releasing the device, Tedbury and Hong have set up Hands-Free Architecture as a provocative platform to encourage other designers to share ways to respond to the crisis.