Ari Trachtenberg Interviewed On Tracking Future Cases of COVID-19 with Cell Phones
Ran Canetti and Mayank Varia, Co-Directors of the Center for Reliable Information Systems & Cyber Security (RISCS) and past Hariri Institute fellow, Ari Trachtenberg, have teamed up with researchers from MIT and other universities to develop an app that uses Bluetooth-enabled cell phones to notify a person if they have come into proximity with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Ari Trachtenberg was recently featured on TechRepublic as he talks to the hosts about the development of the mobile application and how it is currently in the development stage. The mobile application assists a manual contact tracing method by exploiting the technology that is already present on everyone’s cell phone. With the advancements in technology, it is easier to collect data in a shorter period. Ari talks about how the privacy of the user is their biggest concern and should probably be one of the motivating reasons why people would like to use the app. He hopes this app does not only help in the safety of the public but also help return to normal conditions.
“Random chirps can be used to identify later whether you were around someone who ended up being sick.”
Ari Trachtenberg is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boston University and Chair of Master Programs in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. His areas of interest include Cybersecurity (smartphones, offensive, and defensive), Networking (security, sensors, localization), Algorithms (data synchronization, file edits, file sharing), and Error-correcting codes (rateless coding, feedback).