Big companies like Google and Apple have actively joined forces to detect and help in tracking the spread of the coronavirus with the help of smartphones through ENS ( Exposure notification system). It seems that the next gadget that is expected to play a vital role in eliminating this pandemic is going to be smartwatches.
SIG ( Special interest groups) is the organization that looks over the development of Bluetooth standards, it has announced that they’re collaborating with 130 companies to expand their reach of the smartphone exposure systems to wearables.
By extending the ENS (Exposure notification system) and including wearables like wristband and wristwatches, it can better address population where the usage of smartphones is low like older adults living under care facilities and primary students. Ab initial draft for more information and specifications will be released in the coming months as mentioned by the organisation in a press release.
However, the details related to the working of the system are still unknown and we are waiting for the organization to release more specified information but it is believed that users just need to connect the device to their smartphones or a proxy device that has access to the internet, as this will periodically notify the connection or user about the potential contacts.
A physics professor at the Technical University of Munich now leading research on non-pharmaceutical interventions against COVID-19 says “We believe including wearable devices in an ENS would be a very effective method for extending its reach to support these important groups which have low access to smartphone facilities.”