Although life in Israel seems to be returning to normal after a year of lockdowns, different variants of the coronavirus are emerging worldwide with resistance to vaccines, which could see lockdowns return threatening to hinder the progress already made.
The Canario Pro is a new device that aims to prevent the return to a full lockdown and the need to send entire offices into quarantine.
The device, created by Israeli company Canario whose expertise lies in monitoring air quality, uses Bluetooth technology to scan its environment every few seconds and detect other Canario Pro devices.
Small enough to be attached to clothing or a lapel and needing to be charged just once every three months, the machine buzzes to inform the wearer that they are within two meters of someone to ensure social distancing – and if two people are in close proximity for longer than 15 minutes, all the data is sent to a secure cloud base.
“In essence, Canario Pro is perfect for the situation at the moment with the pandemic,” said CEO Dr. Dovik Barkay. “It is a device that knows how to carry out epidemiological investigations through proximity scanning.”
All the necessary data, such as device number, distance, date and time, is stored in a private cloud system, so that if one employee or guest of a business tests positive for coronavirus, it is possible to check with whom they have met, for how long, and who needs to go into quarantine, saving the prospect of sending entire workforces into isolation.
“If there are 20 people in an office and you get ill with coronavirus, your boss can check with the device exactly with whom you came into contact,” said Barkay. “According to the Health Ministry, everybody who comes into contact with you at a proximity of less than two meters for more than 15 minutes must go into quarantine. Then you can inform the necessary people, and you’re not sending an entire office into quarantine.”
The concept could also be helpful in maintaining businesses that deal with the public during an uncertain time. Restaurants and shops, for example, have scores of visitors throughout the day. Each visitor could receive a Canario Pro device that collects location data for the duration of their visit. If someone then tests positive for the disease, it is possible to locate and identify exactly who would need to enter quarantine.
The Canario Pro has already received approval from both the Health and Justice ministries for its privacy devices. Successful pilots have been carried out in Israel and more are planned for the US.
“The World Health Organization estimates coronavirus will be here until at least 2025,” said Barkay. “At the moment in Israel everything is calm, but throughout the world – in India for example, and across Europe – it is still bad. Our device practically allows you to carry on as normal, during coronavirus.”