Michigan Auto Factory Workers Testing ‘Proximity Wristbands’

Is this the "new normal"? Ford Motor Company, in conjunction with the UAW, is testing what some are calling "wearable social-distancing devices" or "proximity wristbands", so workers won't get too close to each other when production at their factories opens back up again.

According to Bloomberg.com, a small group of volunteer workers in Ford's Plymouth, Michigan plant (where they are now building ventilators) are wearing devices that look like a watch and vibrate when anyone else wearing one comes within six feet. The devices are actually smart watches from Samsung with software from the Radiant RFID company. Radiant says:

Workers receive a vibration and a color-coded warning on the watch to let them know when they are closer than six feet to another person. Supervisors also receive alerts and reports that can be used to monitor social distancing and clustering in the workplace.

So, I hope you weren't planning on talking to your friends at work when you go back.

Here's the story.