Wireless Proximity Alert System for Contact Tracing
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Solution Overview
Problem
In a controlled environment like an office building, it is challenging to monitor social distancing and contact tracing effectively among numerous individuals, as it is difficult to keep track of close contacts and maintain distance to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as COVID-19.
Innovation Solution
A wireless device system that detects unique identifiers broadcast by other devices, determines proximity, alerts users when within a predetermined distance, records contact time, and transmits this information to a database server for contact tracing purposes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual monitoring of social distancing is implemented among numerous individuals, then contact tracing capability is improved, but labor requirements and operational complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual monitoring mechanisms with an automated wireless device system that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to detect unique identifiers, determine proximity through signal strength measurement, and automatically record contact information. This substitution eliminates the need for manual tracking while maintaining reliable contact tracing capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The wireless device performs self-monitoring by automatically detecting nearby devices, calculating distances based on received signal strength, determining contact duration, and storing contact records without requiring external intervention. The system serves itself by autonomously completing the entire contact tracing process.
2Reliability
If continuous monitoring of all individuals is implemented, then social distancing compliance is improved, but energy consumption and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic monitoring by checking for nearby devices at regular intervals rather than continuously. The processor periodically evaluates signal strength measurements and contact duration, enabling energy-efficient operation while maintaining effective social distancing monitoring through intermittent but sufficient sampling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes monitoring parameters dynamically by adjusting the frequency of distance checks and contact recording based on current conditions. When no contacts are detected, monitoring intensity is reduced to save energy, while automatically increasing sensitivity when potential contacts are identified, thus balancing compliance reliability with energy consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Wireless device for use with a second wireless device in a communication network to: detect the unique identifier broadcast from the second wireless device; determine a distance from the second wireless device based on the unique identifier broadcast; and instruct the indicator to provide an alert when the distance from the second wireless device is less than a predetermined distance threshold for a predetermined period of time.