Smart wearable device that light up, vibrate and make ‘annoying ’ sounds when people are six feet of each are being used by an Italian firm to limit the spread of the coronavirus

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Employees of an Italian company are strapped with a wearable that lights up, vibrates and makes 'annoying' sounds if they get within six feet of each other.

IK Multimedia, known for making microphones and dongles to connect guitars to smartphones, has added pandemic-related wearables to its product line up.

CEO Enrico Iori is using the devices for his employees in Italy and the US, all of which are touting bracelets, belt clips and lanyards to instill the social distancing recommendation for limiting the spread of the coronavirus.

Safe Spacer is a small, square shaped gadget that is designed with ultra-wide band technology that, according to the firm, is 10 times more accurate than Bluetooth.

The device can be placed in different cases including a watch, lantern and key chain and is available for $99.

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Employees of an Italian company are strapped with a wearable that lights up, vibrates and makes 'annoying' sounds if they get within six feet of each other

Iori, founder and CEO of IK Multimedia, told Bloomberg: ‘We had no outbreak, we had no internally generated cases.’

‘And the good news is that the people stay apart. The device buzzes and vibrates. It keeps the people apart because it’s annoying.'

The device features a unique ID tag and built-in memory to optionally associate with workers' names for tracing unintended contact.

Data collected can be retrieved by the S-Charger while charging, or wirelessly via the optional S-Bridge UWB access unit.

Safe Spacer is a small, square shaped gadget that is designed with ultra-wide band technology that, according to the firm, is 10 times more accurate than Bluetooth. The device can be placed in different cases including a watch, lantern and key chain and is available for $99

The device features a unique ID tag and built-in memory to optionally associate with workers' names for tracing unintended contact

These can be positioned in strategic locations to read the data from Safe Spacer devices as users approach, eliminating long employee queues to download their device data.

It collects timestamps of social distancing violations and employers can pre-set it with specific distance thresholds and alarms.

The firm says the only data stored is the Safe Spacer’s ID and proximity.

Both the S-Bridge and S-Charger can connect to any computer via USB, and free Safe Spacer software will extract this data for review.

Additional options to synchronize data from multiple access points lets companies compile all their data in the cloud, or integrate it into existing enterprise systems. 

IK Multimedia is just one of many companies designing wearables to help limit the spread of the coronavirus.

It collects timestamps of social distancing violations and employers can pre-set it with specific distance thresholds and alarms

Fitbit and Oura smart rings teamed up with universities to develop an algorithm for their devices to detect the coronavirus before a user shows physical symptoms.

Samsung has also stepped its toe into the market by adding the technology to its Galaxy Watch which tells users how many interactions they have through the day – even down to the hour.

The app is also designed to teach and reinforce good hand-washing habits described as part of WHO’s official recommendations for curbing the spread of the infectious disease.

Such wearables have spiked in popularity as the pandemic is still raging around the world.

WinterGreen Research is predicting the market for such technology could reach $105 million by mid-2021.