Using Bluetooth to determine the distance between people is in itself “not very accurate”, inventor Jaap Haartsen tells the trade magazine Computable. Minister Hugo de Jonge (Public Health) suggested using the technology to convert it into a possible app to fight the corona virus.
Having smartphones exchange Bluetooth signals could create a log of people who have been around each other. That way, people can be warned if one of them gets infected with the coronavirus.
Bluetooth therefore offers an alternative to the use of location data, which make a far-reaching invasion of privacy. “So in itself it is not surprising to use Bluetooth to find out who has been around you,” said Haartsen.
But the radio range of a Bluetooth signal is not the same as the distance between people, the inventor notes. “The range is determined by the transmission power, the reception sensitivity, the distance (yes) and the environment (walls, obstacles, reflectors, etc.).”
These different factors can lead to situations in which two smartphones exchange a signal, but the people are 20 meters apart. Since the coronavirus cannot then be directly transmitted, logging could unnecessarily lead to a warning.
The other way round is also possible. The persons can be one meter apart, but with a wall between them. In addition, situations can also occur in which the signal is attenuated, for example by the body, while two people are one meter apart without obstacles.
Haartsen: App would be late for COVID-19
According to Haartsen, much more time is needed to research the statistical issues that arise when using Bluetooth. “It is a complicated puzzle. To expect that this could be developed within a few weeks, then you are doing the field a little short.”
“Even if the app is developed within the foreseeable future, I think it is too late to be used for COVID-19. But perhaps it is in time for the next variant (of a coronavirus, ed.).”
Last weekend, seven parties presented a proposal for a corona app, six of which use Bluetooth. Experts were already critical of the use of the technology in the House afterwards. Minister De Jonge has announced that he will provide more information about the next steps next week.
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