COVID-19 App Development
COVID-19
App Development Resources
ArcTouch offers app development services for government and businesses
COVID-19 has forever changed our world, but app technology can help change it back.
To help contain the spread of COVID-19 and allow people to safely return to work, ArcTouch is offering app development services and its expertise with Bluetooth proximity technology to assist:
FOR GOVERNMENT AND HEALTH AGENCIES
Developing contact tracing apps
ArcTouch is providing free design and development services to state and country health agencies working on contact tracing apps using Apple and Google’s new Exposure Notification system.
This new protocol enables mobile applications to securely and anonymously log physical proximity between mobile phones — and for people to self-report if they’ve been diagnosed with COVID-19. With this backbone technology, states and countries can build custom applications for people who’ve opted into the system to share a positive diagnosis and notify other individuals that they may have been exposed to the virus.
ArcTouch is offering free design and development services with a dedicated team to help any interested government entity build contact tracing apps using the Apple/Google standard. This work would include:
- Design and development of a custom iOS and Android contact tracing app
- Integrations with Apple/Google Exposure Notification API
- Development of the notification backend
- Deployment of a pilot app for testing
A concept contact tracing app for California, using the Apple/Google Exposure Notification system.
How Apple and Google’s Exposure Notification system works
Apple and Google have updated the iOS and Android operating systems to use Bluetooth proximity technology to share and store unique anonymous IDs of every person with an iOS or Android phone that comes within close contact of one another. These anonymous IDs of the contacts are stored on your phone, never leave your phone, and are deleted after 14 days.
How contact tracing apps work (source: Apple/Google)
To implement contact tracing with the Exposure Notification system, state and country health agencies can create custom applications that allow people to self-report if they have been diagnosed with COVID-19. When individuals self-report a positive diagnosis, their own anonymous IDs are sent to a cloud-based database and stored for 14 days. This database is regularly downloaded to every phone with the custom application installed. The application then compares the list of IDs downloaded to the list of contact IDs stored on the phone. If there is a match, the app can display a message to the user that they may have been exposed in the last 14 days.
Government entities and health agencies can contact us to learn more about our free contact tracing app development services.
FOR BUSINESSES
The social distancing app starter kit for re-opening offices
Companies are beginning to reopen offices and factories, in some cases with reduced staff levels and reconfigured workspaces. But in order to open their doors, and eventually increase staff levels, these businesses need to promote safe spacing and continued social distancing.
ArcTouch has designed the Safe Distancing App Kit — leveraging widely available low-cost Bluetooth wearables (e.g. bracelets, belt clips, key fobs) — to monitor the proximity between staff and alert individuals when they are too close to one another for an extended period of time. This application template is ideal for medium and large offices to help workers maintain safe distances and ensure business continuity. It can also help people operations and HR teams monitor how well people in an office are distancing — and identify spacing issues in common areas, like meeting rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms.
The Safe Distancing App Kit helps companies promote safe social distancing among employees in offices.
See how you’re distancing
Team members can see how well they’re distancing from colleagues during the day.
Be notified after too many close contacts
Use proactive notifications to remind team members to keep a safe distance.
Identify problem spaces
See the areas of the office where team members gather too closely together.
Maintain your privacy
The Safe Distancing App Kit keeps user information anonymous, protecting employee privacy.
Using our social distancing app to open your doors
The Safe Distancing App Kit is available to interested companies, and ArcTouch can perform additional app development services as needed to build and launch fully customized production applications.
Interested in building a safe social distancing app for your company? Contact us to learn more.
BLUETOOTH
About Bluetooth proximity technology
All Bluetooth devices, including Android and iOS phones, have signals that allow one another to sense the distance between them. They even transmit limited data without being paired. This makes Bluetooth an ideal technology to use for contact tracing and social distancing applications.
Over our 10-year history, we’ve become experts in using Bluetooth for peer-to-peer communication and proximity detection. Some use cases we’ve explored and helped develop include:
- Tile — Small battery-powered Bluetooth trackers and a phone app to help people find their lost valuables.
- 3M Filtrete Smart Air Filter — An HVAC filter with an embedded Bluetooth sensor and a phone app to alert users when it’s time to replace the filter.
- Beam It! — Uses Bluetooth peer-to-peer technology for two people to wirelessly exchange contact info.
- Proximity — Uses Bluetooth beacons to identify nearby contacts so attendees can reconnect at a tradeshow. Proximity was created for Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference.
