Proxxi Launches Halo Wearable Wristband to Maintain Social Distance at Work During Covid-19 Pandemic

Proxxi, a Vancouver, Canada-based safety technology company for industrial workforces, announced the launch of Halo, a wearable band to help employees maintain social distancing at work. Halo notifies wearers that another band is within 6 feet (2 meters), reminding them of the need to maintain social distance.

Read more Modjoul Wants to Bring America Back to Work By Protecting Frontline Workers in Their Fight Against COVID-19

Proxxi explains the device is designed to help protect essential workers and to enable the return to work as COVID-19 measures are relaxed in the future, says a press release.

“The need to maintain social distancing is critical to reducing transmission of COVID-19. Our existing customers in construction, manufacturing and utilities have essential workers in the field and requested this product. We hear that there may be broader applications potentially in retail, warehousing and healthcare, said Proxxi CEO Campbell Macdonald.

Halo wristbands are always on and always aware. Low-power operation means that workers have reliable, safe-distance monitoring all day long without needing to drain their smartphone battery.

Proxxi’s principle product protects industrial workers from electrical contact injuries and electrocution. Their wearable bands provide real-time insights into worker and team safety behavior and let workers know when they are approaching an energized source.

Halo anonymously keeps track of interactions with other bands. Companies can see which bands have been in contact, when and how many times. In the case of a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, companies can use this data for tracing which workers might need testing and quarantine.

Read more Germany’s Public Health Authority Launches Smartwatch App to Monitor Covid-19 Spread

This is complementary to the efforts just announced by Apple and Google to use Bluetooth technology to securely and privately identify interactions between phones. “We are committed to helping slow the spread of COVID-19 while ensuring the privacy of workers,” said Proxxi CTO Richard Sim. “We designed Halo so that no personally identifiable information is shared with Proxxi, but still providing the tools for organizations to do contact tracing internally and to interoperate with Apple and Google’s new contact tracing technology.”

Halo will be available on May 15. The price for each band is $100, and delivery is free to anywhere in the USA and Canada.