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| Bluetooth Low Energy is unsuitable for COVID-19 contact tracing, say inventors |
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| SparkyFX:
--- Quote from: Zero999 on May 18, 2020, 10:22:50 pm ---We're not epidemiologists and I doubt the developers are either, so we can't form reliable opinions on how well or not it will work in real life. It's definitely worth a try. Any intervention in disease control has costs and risks, which is why extensive in-field testing is required to determine whether they're worth the benefits. --- End quote --- That's for sure, it could add to the set of tools for contact tracing, but imho never replace it, because the false positives might be so widespread that you immediatly go to lockdown anyway or the threshold is set so high that too many cases are under the radar and you get an outbreak. It surely helps in cases like where you can't name the person you sat next to in public transport, trying to identify all riders is next to impossible. |
| tom66:
--- Quote from: jogri on May 11, 2020, 02:54:32 pm ---Well, if you would combine BLE with GPS and the gyrometer/inertial measurement unit you could get rather accurate histograms of a persons position. If another device gets registered via BLE you wait until the signal drops out and then compare the (more or less) exact position of both persons over the time they were in proximity. Should yield way better results (you basically eliminate the RSSI/walls issue), but you would have to share your movement/exact position with everyone in your proximity-> won't happen as it would be a data security/privacy nightmare. --- End quote --- GPS doesn't work indoors, underground, or even sometimes if the device is in a less than favourable orientation. Plus, there are considerable privacy implications: you are now giving the government full positional data on all citizens. Will they give that up? The present system using BLE assumes that infection occurs if you spend more than X minutes around a given individual. For instance, while queueing at a shop. While not perfect, it reduces a lot of concerns around privacy because it can be based on entirely anonymous keys. |
| Syntax Error:
Here in the UK we are recruiting 14,000 contact tracers. So far, a week before the BLE app launches, we have about 900 - mostly in managerial roles. From a real world job advert, this is the kind of plug and play team player that they are seeking to employ part-time... Someone who has... Experience of working in telephone or face to face customer services. Is passionate about exceeding customers expectations and delivering an outstanding customer experience. A great communicator, both written and verbal, who wakes up every day wanting to exceed client and customer expectations. Strong desire to learn, take on board feedback, strive to improve and work to personal goals as well as part of a driven, energetic team! And also knows f'all about Covid-19. |
| Marco:
--- Quote from: tom66 on May 19, 2020, 05:27:44 pm ---The present system using BLE assumes that infection occurs if you spend more than X minutes around a given individual. For instance, while queueing at a shop. While not perfect, it reduces a lot of concerns around privacy because it can be based on entirely anonymous keys. --- End quote --- Assuming it works, false positive/negative rates in complex environments with lots of steel around (ie. supermarkets) are an open question AFAICS. |
| Buriedcode:
--- Quote from: Marco on May 19, 2020, 07:10:47 pm --- --- Quote from: tom66 on May 19, 2020, 05:27:44 pm ---The present system using BLE assumes that infection occurs if you spend more than X minutes around a given individual. For instance, while queueing at a shop. While not perfect, it reduces a lot of concerns around privacy because it can be based on entirely anonymous keys. --- End quote --- Assuming it works, false positive/negative rates in complex environments with lots of steel around (ie. supermarkets) are an open question AFAICS. --- End quote --- Which is why several posters here, as well as the devs themselves have commented just that. It's less than ideal, will require some testing - or rather testing it in the wild before making any kind of major decisions based on its results. There is the danger of the government relying too much on this, but it seems the UK hasn't done too badly in their response in terms of listening to their experts, so I can only assume/hope that the results will be taken wit a pinch of salt, at least until its relative efficacy is known. I get the impression that some here believe such apps are seen by others as techno salvation, possibly based on the sensationalist media, but I don't know anyone who believes such an app will be a magic bullet. |
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