HealthPartners Institute, researchers at the University of Minnesota, and Modern Logic have teamed up to create the SafeDistance smartphone application and website, a new tool that听helps users track COVID-19 outbreaks using crowd-sourced information from anonymous users.
The free app sends notifications as users travel through high-risk areas. 鈥淎s you鈥檙e moving around, you鈥檒l actually see if you鈥檙e going into a higher risk area or you鈥檙e coming from a higher risk area,鈥� Brian Krohn 鈥�08 told Kare 11.听Krohn is听a听project manager and entrepreneur-in-residence at Minneapolis-based Modern Logic and technical lead on the SafeDistance project.
Users of the app take a short COVID-19 symptom survey and then see a map of their neighborhood, as well as other neighborhoods. Data will not be used for-profit and users will not be asked for identifiable information. The app also offers tips about health risks and how to maintain social distancing.听
Krohn, a Rhodes Scholar, has been described as a 鈥淢innesota 鈥淕enius鈥�. His undergraduate research at 绿茶直播 led him to a 鈥淕ood Morning America鈥� appearance in which he talked about a process to produce environmentally-friendly fuel, which was later commercialized in the development of a $9 million pilot plant.听Among Krohn鈥檚 creations are surgery tools,听wizard staffs, a cycling workout app, the Soundly app, and more recently,听SafeDistance.听
While the app launched recently in Minnesota, it is expected to expand across the country soon.
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