Magdeburg-Based Company Develops Private Alternative to Coronavirus App
©Compike GmbH
The metraTec contact tracker
Magdeburg-based company metraTec has developed a tracker as an alternative to the coronavirus app that can reliably identify which people a patient has come into contact with. According to metraTec, the device is no larger than a bank card and is ready to be put to immediate use in companies. “If two people carrying a tracker get within one-and-a-half meters of each other, the devices emit a sound and save the anonymous ID of the other tracker,” explains Managing Director Klaas Dannen. “We made a conscious decision not to use a central server so that only the most essential data is collected.” If an employee contracts COVID-19, this data can be immediately exported from the relevant tracker. “This makes it very easy to find out who the employee came into close contact with and who needs to be informed at the earliest opportunity so that they can get tested or go into quarantine,” says Dannen.
The Magdeburg-based company began developing the device in March, shortly after the first COVID-19 infections in Europe were announced. Dannen explains that metraTec has been supplying the tracker to customers since May and that all devices are tested and produced in Magdeburg. “Together with our partner company Compike in South Germany, we have managed to promote our product all over the world,” says Dannen. Large companies have already shown an interest in the device, too. One benefit that sets this tracker apart is that it has been designed with sustainability in mind. “The device can be used in many different ways, such as in the automation of logistics processes,” explains Dannen.
Founded in 2005 and based in Magdeburg, metraTec GmbH develops, produces and distributes electronics for the identification, localization, communication, and wireless power sectors, supplying a variety of markets with its standard products and custom solutions. Its global customers include OEM customers, system integrators and research institutes.
Author: Manuela Bock/IMG Saxony-Anhalt
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