COVID-19: New technology for physical distancing from Social Distancer

[caption id="attachment_1003735146" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Social Distancer unit Credit: Social Distancer Technologies[/caption] MONTREAL - As workers across North America continue to execute critical projects amid the COVID-19 pandemic, working environments can make pose difficulties for compliance with physical distancing guidelines. After watching their employees navigate these issues, manufacturing veterans Jarred Knecht, John Soares and Steve Zimmermann joined forces and co-founded Social Distancer Technologies to create, with support from the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), the Social Distancer, a wearable product designed to provide workers with a means to easily maintain a two-metre distance. "It's our responsibility to keep our employees safe at all times, and especially during this outbreak," Jarred Knecht, co-founder and COO of Social Distancer Technologies and president of Promark Electronics, said in a release. "But most workers have to interact collaboratively with one another at some point in their day, and it can be difficult to maintain physical distancing practices. The Social Distancer was developed as an easy solution for workers to continue their projects while maintaining proper safety standards during COVID-19." The Social Distancer is a credit-card size, one-inch thick, patent-pending device that instantly calculates the distance between employees. It has three methods of alert — visual, vibration and tone — to instantly notify employees. If employees are within 2.5 meters of one another, the device will flash red, vibrate and audibly alert the employees to move farther away. "The COVID-19 landscape is something new to all of us. We brought together our experts, with advisory support and research and development funding from NRC IRAP, to help our employees not only stay safe, but also be able to work freely and comfortably," added John Soares, co-founder and VP of Social Distancer Technologies and EVP of CMP Advanced Mechanical Solutions. The device lasts 10 to 12 hours on a single charge - the duration of one full shift. Prices start at $199 per unit, which is now available for pre-order, with shipping to Canada, the U.S. and Europe within four to six weeks. A portion of the proceeds from every device sold will go to a COVID-19 relief fund in the country where the product is sold. For more information, visit www.GoSocialDistancer.com.