GPS World

Tag: coronavirus tracking

  • Galileo positioning aids with COVID-19 tracking apps

    Galileo positioning aids with COVID-19 tracking apps

    Image: ESA
    An artist’s rendering of a Galileo satellite in orbit (Image: ESA)

    News from the European Space Agency

    As European governments plan their phased recoveries from the lockdown states triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, the positioning delivered through satellite navigation is becoming more important than ever before, said the European Space Agency (ESA). Location is a key requirement when attempting to monitor and map the spread of a disease and satnav is one of the main tools supporting this, the agency added.

    Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, many applications have been developed that use satnav-based location data to monitor the global spread of the virus and map outbreaks.

    For example, Romanian company RISE developed an app called CovTrack, which monitors people in a user’s vicinity made identifiable via Bluetooth connections to the user’s mobile phone and stores the identification data of these devices.

    By pressing a button, users can access the database in which the unique identifiers of the mobile phones are registered (without having access to any personal data of these mobile phone users), to verify whether the persons with whom users came in contact have subsequently been confirmed with COVID-19, ESA said. If users have identified a potential contact, they can refer to the relevant authorities whether that contact requires inclusion among the monitored persons, or even testing for COVID-19.

    According to ESA, CovTrack, developed on a pro-bono basis, is a spin-off from the existing AGORA project for festival management, supported through ESA’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme, focused on future navigation technologies.

    ESA, along with the European Global Navigation Satellite System Agency (GSA) and European Commission, put together a repository of these apps. The list, based on apps that are already working and available in app stores, includes practical apps that facilitate the daily lives of citizens. Check out the list here.

    Europe’s Galileo, currently embedded in over 1.3 billion smartphones and devices worldwide, is helping to increase satnav accuracy and availability, especially in urban areas, ESA added.

    In addition, GSA is developing its own Galileo-enabled application, Galileo for Green Lane, to monitor and ease the circulation of goods between European Union (EU) Member States while identifying potential congestion at Green Lane border crossings, thus ensuring EU citizens can access the needed supplies of critical goods.

    Check out more of GPS World’s coronavirus coverage here.

  • Draganfly conducts pandemic drone tests in US

    Draganfly conducts pandemic drone tests in US

    Draganfly conducted its first series of U.S. pandemic drone test flights in Westport, Connecticut.

    Draganfly’s pandemic drone technology is being tested by the Westport Police Department as a new “Flatten the Curve Pilot Program.” According to Draganfly, this initiative is a collaboration of technologies developed by Draganfly, Vital Intelligence, a healthcare data services and deep learning company, and the University of South Australia.

    Westport is located in Fairfield County, which has more than 17,550 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Fairfield County is adjacent to New York City, which has the most confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States.

    Image: Draganfly
    Image: Draganfly

    Westport is deploying the technology and data tools to enhance town services, advance public safety, promote the efficient use of taxpayer dollars, engage residents and encourage growth in the local economy.

    The pandemic drone will be equipped with a specialized sensor and computer vision systems that can display fever/temperature, heart and respiratory rates, as well as detect people sneezing and coughing in crowds, and wherever groups of people may work or congregate. The technology can accurately detect infectious conditions from a distance of 190 feet, as well as measure social distancing for proactive public safety practices, Draganfly said.

    Westport specifically plans to use the drone technology to help protect potential at-risk groups, crowds gathering at the town and state-owned beaches, train stations, parks and recreation areas, shopping centers and other areas where people tend to gather.

    “One of the major problems for cities and towns like Westport in managing and responding to a pandemic like the COVID-19 virus, is finding out who could be infected and how widespread the disease has spread,” said Jim Marpe, Westport first selectman. “One way to do this is to look for underlying symptoms. By teaming up with Draganfly and the UniSA team, led by Defence Chair of Sensor Systems Professor Javaan Chahl, we are able to remotely look at valuable lifesaving data and better manage current and future health emergencies.”

    Draganfly‘s pandemic drone software uses biometric readings in its analysis process. The software can be used to understand patterns within a population to allow users to react quicker to ongoing events or new potential health threats, Draganfly added.

    Draganfly manufactures UAVs and UAS, serving the public safety, agriculture, industrial inspections and mapping and surveying markets.

    Check out more of GPS World’s coronavirus coverage here.