EmbedTek, an IoT company specializing in the design and manufacture of embedded computer systems, software, sensors, and integrated displays, announced that it has developed a peer-to-peer social distancing and contact tracking device. The device, called PariRange™, can be used by businesses to support the health and safety of its workforce without the concern for breach of privacy.
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EmbedTek will be demonstrating PariRange to interested parties soon and will move into production in Q3 this year. The technology also can be an embedded design to fit ergonomically into protective equipment or work accessories such as a face shield, hardhat, ID badge, and wrist band. A provisional patent detailing the invention was submitted last week, reports BusinessWire.
PariRange collects and communicates data in a peer-to-peer fashion between each contact tracking device. It is an innovative breakthrough that solves multiple barriers other publicized contact tracking methods face:
- PariRange uses peer to peer communication methodology that does not require a network such as WiFi or cellular. It does not track an employee’s location, movements, or productivity throughout the day. It only tracks when one device comes into a set distance range of another device.
- It does not require any type of infrastructure in order to collect and recall information. So it can be used in work environments where there is no central WiFi network, such as farming and construction.
- Time of flight technology is used to accurately estimate the distance between two people within inches and does not rely on the signal strength of radio frequency which is a major improvement over Bluetooth alternatives.
Social distancing is proven to slow the spread of pathogens but is not completely effective because of its dependence on human behavior.
Businesses have to know who was in close contact with the infected employee while working, at lunch, or on break. EmbedTek’s proximity tracking system provides that information immediately to help protect others, prevent further infection, and maintain the operation of the facility.
“Businesses with large numbers of employees working in close contact with each other are in a difficult position,” said Dan Aicher, CEO of EmbedTek, LLC. “For food processors and manufacturers, for example, initial infections that were not contained have spread throughout facilities, endangering employees and shutting down essential portions of the supply chain. It is critical that these facilities are able to open safely and respond quickly and effectively to future COVID-19 cases that occur within their work community.”
