“Please keep your distance” is certainly one of the sentences most often heard and read at the moment. Signs, markings on the ground and barrier tape are common means of protecting people from the risk of infection with Covid-19. Austrian company SAFEDI Distance Control GmbH takes a completely different approach. Its product innovation SAFEDI is intended to also help industrial companies minimize the risk of coronavirus infection in their workforce.
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Based on the further development of Bluetooth technology, the sensor system is able to determine the distance between two or more people in the near and facial area, which is particularly sensitive to infections. Detection is done quickly and does not require any physical contact. “In order for the clip to fulfill its purpose reliably, it is dependent on a safe energy source. VARTA CoinPower, which is characterized by high quality and reliability, is of course the first choice,” explains Philipp Miehlich, General Manager OEM at VARTA Microbattery GmbH. For example, the distance alarms are equipped with a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, the CP1654 cell from the CoinPower series. Within a very short time, VARTA succeeded in adapting the assembly of the cells specifically to SAFEDI’s requirements, so that the new product could be brought to market quickly. The battery is rechargeable via Micro-USB cable. In a field test with four companies from different industries, SAFEDI has proven its suitability for practical use, and series production has started. Christian Beer, owner and managing director of the Dornbirn-based company, explains the idea behind it: “With our distance warning device, we want to help shorten the economic and social standstill, because companies can use it to maintain their operations.”
“We are enthusiastic about the SAFEDI innovation, which enables companies in the Corona crisis to resume operations and protect workers. By using the device, companies are also living up to their social responsibility towards their employees, and VARTA supports this commitment with full conviction,” emphasizes Philipp Miehlich. VARTA plans to use the distance warning device in its own factories.
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The 15-gram clip is about the size of a coin and can be attached to clothing or worn on a chain. Its range is up to eight meters. As soon as people approach each other, the SAFEDI device triggers an optical signal as a pre-warning. If two people fall below the minimum distance, optical and acoustic signals are continuously released. All users can register their devices online and keep an anonymous close contact log. The log records which ID numbers have come close to each other. Once an infection is detected, those SAFEDI devices are notified that were in close contact with the infected person, according to the close contact log. This is done via push notification, which contains recommendations for required action. All users remain completely anonymous. The system works completely without personal data. Only the SAFEDI ID of the device is registered for keeping the close contact log, not the person. All ID numbers older than the possible incubation period of 14 days are automatically deleted.
About VARTA AG
VARTA AG produces and markets a comprehensive battery portfolio, ranging from microbatteries, household batteries, energy storage systems to customer-specific battery solutions for a wide range of applications, and, as a technology leader, sets industry standards in key areas. As the parent company of the Group, it operates in the business segments “Microbatteries & Solutions” and “Household Batteries”.
