Ramesh Raskar's MIT Team Builds App That Tells If Someone's Infected With COVID-19 Near You

With the novel coronavirus spreading across the county at such a rapid pace, it only makes us think what if we could know who is infected, which area is infected, to be safe, to avoid contracting COVID-19. While you might think such an app wouldn¡¯t be possible, it actually exists.

Safe Paths: MIT

Developed by engineers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the app allows people to know if they¡¯ve ever crossed paths with someone infected with COVID-19. The app is called Private Kit: Safe Paths. It basically shares location data between people¡¯s phones and notifies them if they were seen in close proximity with an infected individual.

People who have been tested positive for the novel coronavirus can share their information on the app. If not, they can share it with health officials instead, who will confirm it and then make it public for the individual.

With this, the app puts a pin on the location of the infected person, terming it a hotspot that other non-infected individuals can avoid. It keeps anonymity however, by encrypting the location, so people don¡¯t really know who is infected, just that someone is.

According to Ramesh Raskar, an associate professor at MIT Media Lab, this app will not only help people be aware of the areas they¡¯re getting into but with also allow specific locations to be closed off instead of shutting cities or towns down instead.

MIT/ Reuters

They¡¯ve teamed up with members from Harvard, Facebook, Mayo Clinic, along with WHO as well as US Health Department.

While the app surely sounds cool, there are some concerns that doesn¡¯t make the app 100 percent perfect. Right now, the app has incomplete information that could result in a false sense of security as it only alerts you to where the virus has been, not where it¡¯s going. However, with time, we can hope it to get better and more prompt in its approach.

The app is available to download for free on iOS and Android.