In news that was very interesting recently, we are cooperating with the two largest companies considered tech giants around the world among themselves to develop an exciting and important project that came in the context of the war against the epidemic of the Coronavirus COVID-19. Google and Apple announced joint cooperation in a project to develop a contact tracking system for smartphone users, using Bluetooth LE technology, to help users prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) by knowing who was in contact with infected patients.
The information provided for the new project is still scarce and little is known about the technical details of what the two companies are doing. However, what is known is a tracking project that will use the Bluetooth LE technology found in most smartphones. And spread among the hands of users wherever they are.
– Bluetooth LE technology:-
Bluetooth LE technology is a low-energy connection alternative to the standard Bluetooth technology we work with and know, because it focuses on broadcasting shorter waves than the traditional Bluetooth connection used, and is characterized by low energy consumption, and the ability to connect to multiple devices at the same time. Note that this technology has been used before between the pairing of many devices nearby, such as the iPhone phone paired with AirPods, or some Beats headphones and others that use short-range frequencies.
The Bluetooth LE technology features several points, the most important of which are:
- Supports a large number of smart devices.
- Support for several operating systems, such as Android, iOS, Windows, and others.
- Use short-term frequencies to work.
- It does not consume a lot of energy, thus saving in battery consumption.
Some disadvantages of this technique:
- Affected by the natural obstacles hindering the emblem.
- The frequency range is short, although positive, but it may not reach specific places.
- Not developing many of the applications that you use despite its presence as a technology on most devices.
- Weak ability to use as accurate positioning.
Now that the two giants, Google and Apple, have shared with each other using Bluetooth LE technology to work against the emerging Coronavirus, COVID-19, this technology has become of great importance, especially in warning people within a certain area of exposure to the Coronavirus, as it works better in open spaces. Also, using it as communication technology is one of the practical and good solutions to track users and warn them against approaching patients or their phones, which may be close to them.
Currently, we are waiting for the efforts of the two companies to become reality, which they promised will work together in building new tools that enable people and health systems to track the virus using the data closely and that the Bluetooth service provides within the smartphone convergence. As they mentioned, their work will be done in two stages.
- The first stage: the launch of a set of tools known as APIs, which enable applications created by the public health system authorities to work on all iOS phones and on the Android system of Google Job.
- Stage Two: The two tech companies will build a tracking system directly on iOS and Android operating systems. This may be considered a good business that will allow individuals to communicate with one another, in addition to enabling interaction with the ecosystem and for applications developed by government health authorities.
– Security in this technology: –
In terms of security and privacy protection, it has been reported that tracking Bluetooth LE signals enables the protection of privacy much better than other options such as GPS or cellular tower-based location data, which allows central authorities to access information.
We hope to see the success of this and other technologies in combating this epidemic, as we pray to God to remove this scourge from us and expedite us with medicine and recovery.
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