DEVT OF DOMESTIC DISEASE PREVENTION TECHNOLOGY

[Anchor Lead]

Korean researchers have developed an infectious disease control system that provides information on COVID-19 patients via smartphones. A sensor installed in a smartphone can easily grasp information on infected people's movements and contacts, and is expected to make COVID-19 response faster.

[Pkg]

​When this student's smartphone is connected to a computer and an app is turned on, his movements over the past two weeks are displayed on the screen. The data is collected using signals of built-in GPS, wireless Internet, gyroscope and barometer sensors. When the movements are compared with those of a virtual person infected with COVID-19 the results show the two persons ' routes overlap in three areas, including a school and a residential building, meaning the college student is at high risk of being exposed to the virus. This tracing system was developed by researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology using data transmitted by smartphone sensor signals. Before this technology, movements of people infected with COVID-19 could only be traced based on personal testimonies or mobile signals at base stations. It took a while to grasp their routes, and accuracy was also an issue. However, the new system allows faster and more accurate tracing.

[Soundbite] HAN DONG-SOO(PROF., KAIST) : "This technology enables us to conduct epidemiological studies faster and more easily. App users can easily check if they have been exposed to the virus."

This technology can also be used in monitoring quarantined people. Using wireless Internet or barometer signals, it can detect movements even inside buildings without GPS signals. The researchers plan to commercialize the system to use it in preventing the spread of COVID-19, and export it as well.