New Smart Wearable Promotes Employee Safety as Business Reopens During the COVID-19 Pandemic
May 20, 2020 | Business WireEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
IoT connectivity and security startup Nodle, nonprofit foundation Coalition Network, and leading global technology solutions company Avnet, announce the creation of a new smart wearable contact tracing device, the Nodle M1.
The device tracks distance and buzzes employees to let them know when they are too close to one another. The Nodle M1 can be clipped to an employee’s shirt or badge, or worn as a necklace. The device leverages parts of the open source Whisper Tracing Protocol and is interoperable with the Coalition App, the privacy-first contact tracing application developed by the Coalition Network.
According to a recent Harvard University White Paper and Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security study, privacy-preserving digital contact tracing tools are considered force-multipliers to help scale manual tracing efforts, reduce the amount of testing needed, and slow the spread of COVID-19. Employees spend a lot of time at work interacting with coworkers, making it easy for COVID-19 to spread. Certain jobs, such as those in warehouses, factories, hospitals and food processing plants, aren’t often performed with a smartphone on hand, which makes receiving digital contact tracing notifications via smartphones difficult.
“In recent conversations with government officials and large enterprises, we realized the dire need for privacy-preserving contact tracing smart devices that can work independently, and without the need for a smartphone. We’ve already received interest from large enterprises in the US and Europe for several million units and Avnet has the experience necessary to scale the production of these wearables in record time,” said Micha Benoliel, Nodle’s Co-founder & CEO
In response, Nodle began working with Avnet to create the Nodle M1, a privacy-first contact tracing solution for enterprises to better protect employees and visitors from exposure to COVID-19. The 5 cm (2 in.) device tracks distance and notifies employees with a buzz when they get too close to one another (less than 6 feet). The distance is determined with far better precision than a smartphone-based solution, and without the need for location. The system also enables operational (HR) departments to alert anyone who may have been near an employee who has previously reported a COVID-19 infection. To ensure privacy and security, The Nodle M1 provides a rotating random identifier to prevent unauthorized third parties in tracking employees or understanding the size of a company’s labor force. The Nodle M1 is industrial grade, IP67 waterproof, dust-proof and can live on a single battery charge for several days.
“The Nodle M1 will be a valuable tool for businesses as we continue the fight against COVID-19 because it enables employers to quickly notify anyone who may have potentially been exposed to the virus in the workplace. By leveraging the Avnet ecosystem to accelerate Nodle’s ability to deliver this device, we’re able to quickly bring to market a solution that prioritizes employee safety while enabling business continuity,” said Bill Amelio, Avnet’s CEO.
Shipments of the Nodle M1 device begin in October 2020.
Suggested Items
Ambiq Apollo510 Delivers 30x Power Efficiency Improvement to Unleash Endpoint AI
03/27/2024 | AmbiqAmbiq, a technology leader in exceptionally energy-efficient semiconductors for IoT devices, is introducing the new Apollo510, the first member of the Apollo5 SoC family, which is uniquely positioned to kickstart the age of truly ubiquitous, practical, and meaningful AI.
Commercial Demand Continues to Be the Main Driver of Personal Computing Device Shipments into the GCC Region
03/26/2024 | IDCThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) personal computing device (PCD) market, which is made up of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, declined 4.0% year on year in 2023, with high inventory levels and reduced consumer spending the primary causes.
Absolute EMS Completes ISO 13485:2016 Recertification, Strengthening Commitment to Medical Device Quality Systems
03/25/2024 | Absolute EMS, Inc.Absolute EMS, Inc., an award-winning EMS provider of turnkey contract manufacturing services, proudly announces the successful completion of its ISO 13485:2016 audit, reaffirming its commitment to excellence in medical device manufacturing.
IMAPS Wrap-up: AI, Chiplets, and 3D Cube Architecture
03/22/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineThe International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society, IMAPS, held its 20th Device Packaging Expo and Conference this past week in Fountain Hills, Arizona, followed immediately by a ‘Workshop on Advanced Packaging for Medical Electronics’ that continued through the remainder of Thursday. Fortunate to find myself in Texas earlier in the week, I made it for the last day of the IMAPS event and attended two excellent keynote presentations by AMD and Intel, respectively. Here are some highlights.
Global Shipments of Wearables Devices Saw Modest Growth in 2023 with Improved Demand Expected in 2024 and Beyond
03/20/2024 | IDCNew data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker shows that the wearable devices market declined 0.9% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23).