Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, brands are debuting cutting-edge solutions to help the public and governments understand the spread of the virus. Notably, Norway-based technology company, Unacast, recently debuted a live Social Distancing Scoreboard that includes a country-by-country and state-by-state breakdown of people's movement patterns. Based on this data, it grade's each country and state/province and hopes to correlate the changes with human behavior over time.
Unacast uses the data collected by the free apps many smartphone users download which collects and sells their location data to technology companies like Unacast. This data includes the phone's advertising ID, IP address, and "GPS horizontal accuracy value" — to name a few. Unacast states that all this information remains anonymous and does not identify any specific person, device, or household.
Social Distancing Tracking Maps
Unacast Debuted a Live Social Distancing Scoreboard Amid COVID-19
Trend Themes
1. Live Social Distancing Scoreboards - A new trend that could be utilized by governments and businesses to track social distancing compliance and understand behavior patterns amidst COVID-19.
2. Location Data Analysis - A trend that emphasizes data privacy and could be applied to various industries such as healthcare, retail, and transportation to understand consumer and patient behavior.
3. Real-time Data Visualization - A trend that could be used by companies to track their supply chain and optimize their production process by monitoring real-time movement patterns of people and goods.
Industry Implications
1. Government - Governments can use live social distancing scoreboards to monitor the effectiveness of social distancing policies and help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
2. Retail - Retailers can use location data analysis to understand consumer behavior and adapt their store layouts and product offerings accordingly.
3. Transportation - Transportation companies can use real-time data visualization to optimize their operations and monitor the movement of goods and people in real-time.