Port of Antwerp tests bracelet that warns if staff approach each other too close

Employees in the port of Antwerp will carry out a test with a bracelet for social distancing and contact tracing. The band warns if employees are less than one and a half meters away from each other.

According to the port of Antwerp, social distancing is the main function of the Romware Covid Radius. If employees get too close to each other, they get a warning signal. According to Romware, privacy is guaranteed, because the system does not save the location by default.

The specifications of the Romware Covid Radius state that the functionality is based on ultrawideband, or uwb, as standard, but GPS and uwb positioning are optional, so that localization is possible. There is also support for the NB2 specification of the Narrow Band IoT and lte-m, an economical 4G variant for machines. NFC support is optional. According to the specifications, the notifications are haptic and via LED, so the band probably warns via vibrations and light signals.

The band also has support for contact tracing. This makes it possible to check with which people with a bracelet an employee infected with the corona virus has had contact. According to a screenshot, the route of a band, and therefore the location, can be seen via a dashboard. Companies can also indicate how many people with a bracelet may be present within a room. If exceeded, a warning will probably also follow.

There are several initiatives for this kind of bracelets. For example, VORM and Mapiq developed the Corona Pieper for the construction sector. Sensors in this wearable register via Bluetooth when construction workers are within a radius of one and a half meters from each other. They then hear a loud beep, which stops when the distance is increased.

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