App Shows What 6 Feet Away Looks Like

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 04/07/20
Social Distancing Trainer Shows What Six Feet Away Looks Like 

Two education organizations have created a free Apple iOS app to help demonstrate how far to stay away from other people to practice safe physical distancing. The program, "Social Distancing Trainer," was produced by Discovery Education and Afterschool Alliance. The app uses augmented reality to get the idea across.

Once the app is installed, the user finds a clear space and waits for the signal to press the screen. The student chooses imperial measurement or metric, and then a holographic image of a human figure appears, along with the distance between the figure and the student. The distance changes as the student moves closer or farther from the augmented figure, to give the learner a sense of how far away he or she should be for safe contact.

The trainer also provides information about the COVID-19 health crisis, using resources from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and the United Kingdom's National Health Service.

"Getting a true sense of safe social distancing can be challenging," said Afterschool Alliance Executive Director Jodi Grant, in a statement. The app, she said, provides users with "an effective and cool way to see what social distancing looks like, all from the safety of their homes."

The app is currently available in the Apple App Store; a Google Android version will also be made available shortly via Google Play.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • college students in a classroom focus on a silver laptop, with a neural network diagram on the monitor in the background

    Report: 93% of Students Believe Gen AI Training Belongs in Degree Programs

    The vast majority of today's college students — 93% — believe generative AI training should be included in degree programs, according to a recent Coursera report. What's more, 86% of students consider gen AI the most crucial technical skill for career preparation, prioritizing it above in-demand skills such as data strategy and software development.

  • university building with classical architecture is partially overlaid by a glowing digital brain graphic

    NSF Invests $100 Million in National AI Research Institutes

    The National Science Foundation has announced a $100 million investment in National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes, part of a broader White House strategy to maintain American leadership as competition with China intensifies.

  • cybersecurity book with a shield and padlock

    NIST Proposes New Cybersecurity Guidelines for AI Systems

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology has unveiled plans to issue a new set of cybersecurity guidelines aimed at safeguarding artificial intelligence systems, citing rising concerns over risks tied to generative models, predictive analytics, and autonomous agents.

  • school building connected by lines to symbols of AI, data charts, and a funding document with a dollar sign

    ED Issues Guidance on the Use of Federal Grant Funds to Support Learner Outcomes with AI

    In response to President Trump's April 23 Executive Order on advancing AI education, the United States Department of Education has issued new guidance on how K-12 and higher education institutions may use federal grant funds "to support improved outcomes for learners through the responsible integration of artificial intelligence."