Ford Tests Buzzing Social-Distance Wearables

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By Chuck Martin

To help in the social distancing of auto workers, Ford is testing wearable wrist devices that buzz when workers get too close to each other.

A small group of employees at a Michigan Ford factory have opted into the program, Bloomberg reported.

The devices buzz when workers come within six feet of each other, aiming to keep factory workers spread out and careful.

This is not the first use of wearables relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, Bluetooth location company Estimote created a wearable device aimed at curing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace.

Even more recently, Fitbit, Stanford Medicine and The Scripps Research Institute announced they are conducting research aimed at using Fitbit data to help detect, track and contain infectious diseases like COVID-19.