Blog: Engineering of Social Distancing

Over the past few days , I wrote :

Antidote to “ Anti-Social Intimacy “ / Not so ODD after all !

Unlocking Lockdown : Calibrated – Gradual

Where, I suggested “ Rule-based Methods “ of “ Social distancing “ for some Public Places

Already there are news reports of different States trying out, one or more of these suggestions

In weeks to come, some more States will experiment with variations of these, depending upon how fast or slow , Corona spreads through their State

Most of these “ Rule-based Methods “ will be difficult to enforce . There aren’t enough police to monitor compliance at each of these places

Could there be some “ Engineering Solutions “ for ensuring SOCIAL DISTANCING, without having to post thousands of police , all over a city ?

Such “ Engineering Solutions “ could be temporary at some Public Places and could be permanent at some others

I submit following solutions for consideration by the Policy Makers / Municipalities / Manufacturers :

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Ø TRANSPORT

“ Rule-based Methods “

# Odd / Even for all passenger vehicles ( with usual exemption for Police / Ambulance etc )

# Each vehicle ( includes planes ) to carry no more than 50 % of capacity

Since all passenger vehicles – including planes – have their seats NUMBERED, it is

fairly straight forward to issue tickets for alternate seats or for every 4^th seat etc .

This rule could change with time / region / infection-intensity etc

“ Engineering Solution “

Future production of vehicles to be based on a DESIGN where all seats are

adjustable / removable

One can subtract / remove, every second / third / fourth seats, increasing the

Spacing between the seats as desired

One can store the removed seats in a warehouse and re-install when

required

Right now, Railways are converting some 32,000 coaches into “ Isolation Wards “ ,

by removing seats and replacing with beds

I presume Railways are storing these remove seats in warehouses for future re-

installation. When these coaches get re-converted back with stored seats, those

beds can go into the warehouses

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Ø OFFICES-BANKS

“ Rule-based Methods “

# No of persons permitted to work inside these establishments shall be restricted

as follows :

# April > less than 10 persons / July > less than 50 / Sept > less than 100 / Nov >

less than 500

# In rotation , 50 % of the employees to work in office and balance 50 % from

home ( WFH )

# 5 day week( currently prevalent ) to become a 6 day week ( to distribute work-

load evenly )

# Staggered work-hours through Flexi-timings [ from 7 am to 10 pm/shift working

in offices ? ]

“ Engineering Solution “

# Seating Plan in Offices to be re-designed, with only CUBICLES , each

accommodating one person

# Each cubicle to be equipped with Video Conferencing – Thermal Camera –

Attendance Sensor

# Office Staff can “ book / reserve “ any vacant cubicle ONLINE , for specified period

and occupy

# Entire “ Reservation Plan “ can be accessed online from home by employees

# In due course, employees will be enabled with HOLOGRAPHIC conferencing

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Ø FACTORIES – WORKSHOPS

“ Rule-based Methods “

# No of persons permitted to work inside these, shall be restricted as follows :

April > Less than 5 / May > less than 25 / June > Less than 50 / July > Less than

100 / Aug > Less than 500 / No limit

“ Engineering Solution “

# Greater use of Segway type personal transporter for workers to scoot from one

work-station to another,

# Greater use of conveyors for components / sub-assemblies to move from one

worker to another worker .

# Greater use of overhead conveyors , fully utilizing vertical height

# Greater mechanization / automation / Robotation of current manual processes (

we have heard of factories with NO WORKERS / factories working at night

without lighting since there are NO WORKERS )

# Introduction of internet-connected HEPATIC devices, using which, workers can

operate machines installed in factories , sitting at home

[ Read : " BACK FACTORY " OF THE WORLD ? / 3 years to cover 32 Km ? ]

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Ø SHOPS – MALLS

" Rule-based Methods “

# April > Only E Com companies / June > Kiranas / July > Veg Mkts / Aug > Small

Malls / Oct > Medium Malls / Dec > Large Malls

“ Engineering Solution “

# Number of persons inside a mall (or any store within a mall ) to be restricted below 1

for every 100 sq ft of Floor space

# Store doors and Mall Entrance to integrate laser beams which get interrupted

when someone enters / leaves .

Embedded software will count each entry / exit ( cumulative ADD / SUBTRACT ).

As soon as specified LIMIT ( for the number of occupants inside ) is reached,

interlocked doors will refuse to open !

# This combination of hardware and software will also display outside the DOOR /

GATE :

- RED lamp ( to indicate full occupancy )/ GREEN lamp ( to indicate some vacancy )

- DIGITAL SIGN-BOARD indicating “ No of Vacancies inside , right now “

# At the Mall Entrance, visitors will be made to wear a suspended NECK – TAG ,

which will be TIME- STAMPED ( 20 minutes inside a store / 2 hours inside Mall ).

It will glow RED , if these time-limits are Exceeded ( Sensors embedded within TAG

will get activated by the laser beams )

# Above-mentioned “ functionalities “ could also be achieved through a Mobile App [

KeepAway ? ]

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Ø RELIGIOUS PLACES

“ Rule-based Methods “

# April to June > NONE / July > Street Corner / Aug > Small / Oct > Medium / Jan

> Large Places

“ Engineering Solution “

# Installation of horizontal conveyors ( found at most airports ) with standing spaces

marked every 6 feet .

There will be sensors embedded just under those “ marked “ standing spaces. If

some person stands away from a marked standing space, escalator will stop

moving ( of course, any standing space can remain EMPTY )

# Conveyors will have CLIMB-UP and CLIMB-DOWN stations at entry and exit . It will

be one-way traffic

# Conveyor will pass in front of the Deity / Idol and have barricades on either sides

to prevent unauthorized access / falling off

[ For details / diagram, read :

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH ………………………………………………….[ 26 Aug 2018 ]

SIMPLE SOLUTION for STEMPEDE ……………………………………………………[ 24 Sept 2015 ]

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Ø SOCIAL VENUES

“ Rule-based Methods “

# April > Less than 20 at HOME / June > Upto 50 in HALL / July > Less than 100 in

HALL / Sept > Gardens / Oct > Beaches / Nov > Resorts

“ Engineering Solution “

# If a venue is a enclosed space like a HALL , then the solution described above for

SHOPS – MALLS, should be implemented

# If the venue is a wide open space ( Gardens – Beaches – Vegetable markets –

Roads etc ) , then

“ Social Distancing Detector – SDD - ( with Alarm system ) “,

developed by Landing.ai , must be implemented

For details, view demo video at :

https://landing.ai/landing-ai-creates-an-ai-tool-to-help-customers-monitor-social-distancing-in-the-workplace/

Considering that, in the past 5 days after partial lifting of lockdown on 20^th April,

we have seen huge crowds gathering near Ration Shops / Vegetable markets , it is

imperative to implement SDD on a war-footing .

Only yesterday ( 21st ), Government of Maharashtra was forced to withdraw relaxations ( for moving out onto the roads to buy essentials ) by saying :

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“ In view of the large number of people commuting, because of the relaxation issued vide order dated 17th April 2020 and also the imminent threat of further spread of the pandemic it is hereby directed in so far as Mumbai Metropolitan Region and the Pune Metropolitan Region area is concerned the orders issued on 17th April 2020 shall not apply.”

Flock Dynamics ………………………………………………………………………………..[ 04 Sept 2018 ]

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Ø EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

“ Rule-based Methods “

# April > Less than 10 in Coaching Classes / June > Less than 50 in Coaching

Classes / Sept > Colleges – Hostels / Nov > University Campuses

“ Engineering Solution “

# The ideal ( though long term ) solution is : Online Distance Education / Training

# Using broadband internet connection ( and 5G ), we must turn each home into a

virtual classroom

# Till such time 5G reaches every home, I urge MeITY to consider

promoting use of LiFi

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Ø ENTERTAINMENT VENUES

“ Rule-based Methods “

# April-May – June - July – Aug > NONE

# Sept > Less than 200 in Cinema Halls

# Nov > Less than 500 in Stadium / Dec > less than 1000 / Jan > Less than 5000

“ Engineering Solution “

# Same solutions described earlier for SOCIAL VENUES , will apply here equally well

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END NOTE :

None of the “ Engineering of Social Distancing “ solutions described above , are likely to get implemented by the owners / leasers of the public places or by the manufacturers of passenger vehicles , through self-motivation

These are expensive and time-consuming solutions

Most people will wait for return to normalcy – the day Social Distancing is given a “ Goodbye “ !

But Corona ( or one of its deadlier cousin ? ) could return , after months or years

Hence, it becomes necessary for our lawmakers to enact appropriate laws , mandating introduction of these ENGINEERED SOLUTIONS , over the next 3 years

Not only will this turn our cities into SMART CITIES, it will also turn them into SAFE CITIES

In the process, this proposed law will create an entirely NEW INDUSTRY worth billions of dollars ( for domestic as well as Export ) , and provide jobs to millions

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 21 April 2020

Tuesday, 21 April 2020

Engineering of Social Distancing

Antidote to “ Anti-Social Intimacy “ / Not so ODD after all !

Unlocking Lockdown : Calibrated – Gradual

[ Read : " BACK FACTORY " OF THE WORLD ? / 3 years to cover 32 Km ? ]

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH ………………………………………………….[ 26 Aug 2018 ]

SIMPLE SOLUTION for STEMPEDE ……………………………………………………[ 24 Sept 2015 ]

Flock Dynamics ………………………………………………………………………………..[ 04 Sept 2018 ]

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