Volan

With the threat of the coronavirus ever-present, technology companies are looking to offer cleaner, safer and healthier workplaces and educational spaces. In order to monitor and control the virus, technology companies are inventing a wide range of new products that allow businesses to monitor and control their teams.

The Volan Positioning System is a contact tracing system that claims it can ‘rank those most at risk’ in schools, workplaces or other spaces, using ‘micro-location and geofencing technology.’ It does this by continuously tracking the location of people wirelessly, using Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (BLE), which does not require cellular or GPS data. Volan has undergone significant testing in schools, a demographic towards whom the company has extensively marketed their technology.

If we accept technological systems that invisibly track us and rank our risk in the name of public health, how else could such systems be deployed when the pandemic is under control?