Fishers Company Markets Social Distancing Tech

Fishers-based Advanced Industrial Marketing is distributing new social distancing and people counting tools in the U.S. The products, which include wearable devices that were piloted in Europe, are being used in a variety of places such as warehouses and large retailers to ensure employees and customers are observing social distancing restrictions.

Chief Executive Officer Rob Hruskoci says the technology is an extension of the company’s previous business model of helping industrial companies improve the safety and efficiency of their material handling operations.

Hruskoci discussed the technology in a recent interview on Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.

“We were heavily involved in proximity detection before it became a fun word,” said Hruskoci. “We’ve repurposed some of our technology to administer help in today’s day and age.”

The wearable devices are equipped with technology that can communicate with other devices and alert an individual wearing one when another comes within a certain radius.

“The wearable technology is essentially a small radio transmission device; it’s using a unique protocol called UWB, ultra-wideband, and essentially the wearable device is a small transmitter and receive. It’s sending a signal out and trying to communicate with other tags or wearables of our make. Once they communicate with each other, they identify that the distance is being respected. However, when a certain threshold has been reached — i.e. six feet — we alert the wearer of that badge with a strong vibration and a vibrant LED flash.”

The company’s other technology involves using 3D cameras to measure how many people are in a small space, especially outdoors.

Hruskoci says the company has received positive feedback from customers using the technology and inquiries continue to come in from a variety of areas, from schools to large corporations.

“Small to big, everyone’s interested in this technology and we already have active products from the arts community; the museums and parks are all thinking about implementing this for their patrons.”