2 close : Button that beeps when wearers come too close

Inspiration

Nowadays, I guess almost everyone has experienced this: shopping in a store, people stand around, cluster together, are occupied by the goods and forget that they get too close to other shoppers. I am almost the only one who seems to care about social distancing, the others block the aisles, approach shop assistants, don't pay attention. This is most likely the rationale why e.g. in Germany only shops smaller then 800 m^2 may open.

Also, playgrounds are closed, as kids can't think of keeping distance while playing. What could be done about that, as it would really help us parents if we could let the kids play outside?

Something that reminds you that you get too close now

So I suggest to wear a gadget that simply beeps and blinks if another person comes too close. Of course, it only helps it that other person wears one, too. Which means that it needs to be small and cheap, in order to get almost everyone wear it. Say, like a name tag on a hacker convention.

Prior Art

This has been tried out as a smartphone app in the preceeding national hackathon: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvR_uRsG7bw) by Wilfried Wessel et al. I think the video, while funny, does not really reveal the full potential of the idea, which is best suited for out-of-home situations and should be usable by persons without a smartphone.

Built With

• arduino
• ble-shield
• tbd