Red Cross using Uepaa technology

The Austrian Red Cross has activated a new function in its coronavirus app. This aims to prevent a resurgence in infections after the lockdown is lifted. To this end, the organization is using technology developed by the Zurich-based start-up Uepaa to trace personal encounters.

Its core function is a contact diary that the app is able to produce automatically, as detailed in an article on startupicker.ch. For this, personal encounters via what is known as a “digital handshake” are anonymously saved. A handshake is exchanged when two people exceed the minimum distance guidelines for an extended period. When someone is taken ill because of the coronavirus, everyone that has come into contact with the patient over the past 54 hours is anonymously advised of the situation and asked to self-isolate.

According to the information provided, users are not asked to submit personal information to use the app. User contacts are stored exclusively on their respective end device, with the Red Cross unable to view this information.

Uepaa was formed as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) in 2012. The company offers localization technology that is not only more precise than GPS, but it also does not eat into the battery life of a cell phone to the same extent. Moreover, Uepaa protects the private sphere of its users as no location information is shared with the app providers.