Social Distancing Device

The world is currently at the mercy of COVID-19, a severe acute respiratory infection that is highly contagious and has made its devastating impact throughout all populations worldwide. According to WHO, everyone should abide by social distancing guidelines to flatten the curve of COVID-19 transmission. However, this protocol alone is not a viable solution, as one of the highest transmission sites of COVID-19 is within indoor populations. There is a significant need for implementing stricter social distancing guidelines in indoor environments. Our design objective is to develop a device capable of measuring the distance between 2 or more users that alerts the user if they are within 6 feet of each other. The most important design inputs for our device are user feedback, obtrusiveness, and battery life. The device should be accurate, unobtrusive with minimal distraction, and alert each user if they are within 6 feet distance of each other. Our prototype focuses on an Arduino BLE detection within a 6 feet distance using Bluetooth FireBeetle ESP-32 Modules. To calculate distance from the measured RSSI, we used a distance equation where we measured the RSSI at 1 meter and used it to calibrate the distance. An empirical calibration between wireless signal strength and the RSSI was performed. The effect of the obstacles between two communicating units was also evaluated. For each of these methods, the slope of the calibration curve, with incrementing distance, was identical. Hence, Our device, to promote social distancing guidelines within an indoor environment, is capable of reducing COVID-19 transmission rates in this critical time of the pandemic to prevent further transmission.