MicroElectronicDesign Launches tinyLiDAR SafeDistance as 'Masks Alone Cannot Stop the Pandemic' (Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General)*
TORONTO, July 28, 2020 (Newswire.com) - MicroElectronicDesign has created a new social distancing device called SafeDistance. This key fob size device quickly provides visual indication of the measured distance by the color of its LED. Like a traffic light, the device shows Green for 2m (6.6feet) or greater, Red for under 1m (3.3feet), and Yellow in between. Based on micropower Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, it's more accurate and lower cost than radio-based solutions such as Bluetooth and Ultra-Wide Band (UWB). The device is currently in the fundraising stage at Indiegogo with a short, fixed funding campaign. Visit https://igg.me/at/safedistance or www.safedist.me for more information.
"It was heartbreaking to see families who were left devastated by the COVID-19 virus," explains Dinesh Bhatia, Principal Design Engineer at MicroElectronicDesign. "With cases surging around the world we were obsessed and determined to create a personal device that would be affordable, easy to use and effective at improving physical distancing. The result is tinyLiDAR SafeDistance."
As Dr Tedros said: "Masks alone cannot stop the pandemic. Countries must continue to find, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact. Mask or no mask, there are proven things all of us can do to protect ourselves and others – keep your distance …"*
"It's just common sense," continues Dinesh. "Staying more than 2m or 6.5feet away will dramatically reduce your chances of getting COVID. You can see this in the recent experimental results from Dr Davis."
Dr Richard Davis, who is the clinical microbiology lab director at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, tweeted a series of photos that showcased two demonstrations aimed at understanding how effective face masks are at blocking respiratory droplets from an individual's mouth, while also illustrating the importance of social distancing.
"I set open bacteria culture plates 2, 4 and 6 feet away and coughed (hard) for ~15s. I repeated this without a mask," Davis wrote.
The pictures showed that standing two feet apart with no mask practically covered the Petri dish with bacteria. Davis' respiratory droplets also managed to land on the dish at four feet away but were reduced to scarce amounts at six feet.
"Having proof like this makes you wonder why people don't take physical distancing seriously," adds Dinesh. "Even if the correct markers are not in place, tinyLiDAR SafeDistance will enable you to maintain the proper safe physical distance by the mere press of a button. Our goal is to make this generally available as a standard tool to help stop the spread of COVID-19. We're ready for production now and are looking for backers to join us in improving the state of physical distancing around the world."
Media Contact:
Sabeena Taharally
Phone: 408-598-1657
Email: [email protected]
https://www.safedist.me
Source: MicroElectronicDesign, Inc.
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Tags: Coronavirus, COVID, Covid Innovation, COVID-19, Crowdfunding, LiDAR, masks, Physical Distance, PPE, Safe Distance, Social Distance
