#TechBytes: Weird technologies that can protect you from COVID-19
In a span of six months, COVID-19 has turned the whole world upside down. Scientists are racing to develop a vaccine, while the rest of the public is doubling down on social distancing to keep itself protected. Now, to help with these efforts, we have curated a list of some weird yet useful tech that may help you safeguard yourself from the deadly coronavirus.
NASA's PULSE 3D-printed necklace - for controlling face-touching
First on the list is PULSE, a 3D-printed necklace by NASA. The device uses readily available and affordable components to detect hand movement and trigger haptic feedback to remind you not to touch your face. It starts alerting as soon as your potentially infected hand begins to move towards your face and increases and the strength of the vibrations as it goes closer.
Immutouch smart wrist band - also for controlling face-touching
Like NASA's Necklace, Slightly Robot's Immutouch band also prevents risky face touching by triggering haptic alerts. Once you calibrate the device, its accelerometer starts working with a personalized algorithm to track the position of your hand. It senses hand movement 10 times every second and starts vibrating as soon as you touch your face or come close to touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Immutouch can be paired with an app too
Notably, the Slightly Robot band can also be paired with a companion app to check how well you have been controlling the passive urge to touch your face.
Amazon's Distant Assistant to maintain social distance
To protect its workers from COVID-19, Amazon has developed a Distant Assistant that tracks movement and gives visual nudges to help people maintain social distance. The system relies on ML and depth sensors to display a live feed showing workers who break the social distancing protocol encircled in red, while others appearing green. Amazon also plans to make this tech available to other businesses.
Uber's mask detection system for drivers
Uber has developed a tech that scans the face of the driver to make sure whether they are wearing a mask/face cover or not. The feature requires the driver to take a selfie from their app and allows taking a ride only when it is confirmed that they have a mask on. It is very critical to protecting both drivers and riders from COVID-19.
Finally, Safe Space for social distancing
Just as the band for face touching, Safe Space is a wrist-based wearable that promotes social distancing. When given to employees or field workers, it produces audio, visual, or vibrational alerts (depending on what is preferred) to keep them from coming within six feet of each other. Plus, it also records contacts so that if anyone contracts COVID-19, their contacts can be traced easily.
