Apresentação Do Powerpoint

Enhanced social distancing monitoring through augmented contact-tracing

Safeguarding public health by augmenting contact- tracing measures in Singapore with Bluetooth low- energy (BLE) enabled TraceTogether Tokens

INTRODUCTION KEY CHALLENGES The world was unprepared for COVID-19. Little was known of the virus and social distancing was the only way to combat its spread. When Singapore went into its first lockdown in April 2020, the authorities knew a better contact-tracing measure must be put in TraceTogether Arduous process Near impossible mobile app does of interviewing to ascertain the place—one that enables a more robust process of not cover the and tracing back unidentified digitally excluded to past contact- persons who identifying persons who may have been exposed to population e.g. points of the were exposed to confirmed COVID-19 cases. elderly and young COVID-19 confirmed children patient COVID-19 cases

THE CHALLENGE: should be on receiving medical attention and ENHANCING CONTACT-TRACING recovery. Contact-tracing is by no means an easy feat. To To ensure that patients focus on recovery without successfully ascertain the contact-points of a having to partake in laborious interview processes confirmed COVID-19 case, relevant authorities and to enhance current contact-tracing measures, must thoroughly interview the COVID-19 patient the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) of and trace back to the places he has visited and the Singapore needed a more efficient solution in people whom he has come into contact with. This is identifying people who may have been exposed to an arduous process as it’s near impossible to confirmed COVID-19 cases—one that can augment ascertain the unidentified persons who were the existing TraceTogether mobile app and provide exposed to the COVID-19 patient. Furthermore, the data on the patient’s past contact-points while investigation officers would have to conduct maintaining a high degree of anonymity without grueling interviews with the patient whose priority infringing on personal privacy.

8 weeks to design and Stores encrypted data put together the exchanged with other Bluetooth low-energy tokens which can only be (BLE) enabled accessed by authorized TraceTogether Token public officers THE RESULT: AUGMENTED CONTACT-TRACING

Together with GovTech Singapore and using our The contact-tracing measure in Singapore is expertise in Bluetooth low-energy (BLE), we put enhanced with the tokens that were distributed. together the highly portable TraceTogether (TT) Vulnerable seniors who have no access to smart Token in just eight weeks—from ideation to phones and/or contact-tracing mobile apps were production, a process which could have taken six to prioritized to receive the tokens, and collection nine months. The token is designed to exchange intervals for the general public were subsequently short-distance Bluetooth signals with other tokens rolled out. or TT mobile apps that are in close proximity. These The token is only surrendered to authorized public data records are encrypted and stored locally in the officers for data extraction in an event one is found token for no more than 25 days and are to be a confirmed COVID-19 case. For the automatically erased after. The token does not authorities, this significantly increases the capture geo-location data as it does not have effectiveness in contact-tracing with improved internet or cellular connectivity which minimizes accuracy in identifying the patient’s past contact- unauthorized remote access to the encrypted data points. More importantly, the patient is left to that is stored only on the token. Its battery life is receive medical attention and to recover without between six to nine months and does not require having to go through grueling interview processes. charging. ABOUT THE TRACETOGETHER TOKEN ▪ Uses Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) to exchange signals GovTech and PCI worked with other tokens nearby ▪ Stores encrypted data which is automatically erased closely on the initial design of after 25 days ▪ Has no internet or cellular connectivity to prevent the TraceTogether Token. unauthorized remote access PCI has demonstrated its ▪ Doesn’t require charging; battery life of up to nine months engineering capability and was ▪ Drop protection of up to 1 meter (3.28ft); has ratings flexible to respond to changes of IPX1or IP54and can be IPX7 with supplementary armband in product requirements when ▪ Interoperable with the TraceTogether mobile app we rolled out the first tranche (Android and iOS) of tokens in June 2020. – Quek Yang Boon, Director of Sensors and Internet of Things, GovTech Singapore

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