Distance Maps

Distance Maps Presentation

Jeremy Jacobson

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been ordered to stay at home during the global pandemic, but this isn’t always possible. Whether it’s going to work, going to a grocery store, or simply getting fresh air, it’s impossible to stay locked in your house for weeks on end. When people are forced to experience the outside world, they are potentially compromising their own health as well as others. There has been a necessity for technology to provide a sense of safety amid this uncertainty. Therefore, I am making distance maps: a smartphone app that allows users to avoid crowds and promotes social distancing while warning them of potential dangers and COVID-19 threats. Distance Maps has two primary features: crowd mapping in essential locations such as grocery stores, and social distance monitoring using short distance Bluetooth exchanges. Then, using the data collected from these two features, the app would present scores and statistics, scoring the user on how well they are doing keeping themselves safe.