Let's suppose that today I tested positive for COVID-19. But yesterday I had to go to the drug store, due to a headache that came out - and, let's be honest, even during isolation it is necessary for all of us to go out at some point. I probably had the virus yesterday, and if I was not careful, I may have contaminated some points of the drug store. Knowing that I was there being infected, I want to tell my community to be careful with this place. I use the APART app to register where I have been.
My neighbor is also needing some medications, but he is 74 years old and is in danger group. His granddaughter taught him how to use the app APART. He checks the map and finds out that the drug store may be a dangerous place. APART could instruct him how to be careful in there, but not only is he in danger group, but also, APART knows that we live on an area with a high prevalence of cases - so, anyone around here will be directly instructed to order what is needed from home.
His granddaughter, who taught him about APART, has to go to the market. But she previously informed the app that she had a few of COVID-19 symptoms. APART knows that she lives in a zone with a high quantity of population above 65 years and with a high number of cases. It will be highly recommended to her the option of ordering from home, but, if not possible, APART will register her steps and inform other users about it.
APART can tell if a place is more likely to be contaminated by colors, so the drug store I went will be displayed as a red dot on the map - because I tested positive for COVID-19. My neighbor's granddaughter went to the market, but we can not know if she is really infected, so this place will be marked as a blue dot.
The inspiration to start this project came from a participant, the only team member, in fact. Luísa has a disobedient grandfather that lives in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. Copacabana is the place with the most number of cases from Rio de Janeiro, and this city is the second one with more cases in Brazil, which is also the second one with more cases in the entire world.
As she wants to be an astronaut, and always keep up with NASA opportunities, she knew about Space Apps COVID-19 and was already signed up to the challenge. After seeing how her grandfather refused to stay home and use a mask on some occasions, she thought about being able to handle people like him more precise information and help them to be more careful on the streets.
Unfortunately, the whole app was not completed. As the team Astro Lion only contains one person, the main problem was the high quantity of tasks to be completed in a short time.
The UI design and the prototype were built with Adobe XD. A real-time map was also built, and the software Carto was used for it.
APART uses NASA’s SEDAC data to know about the number of cases and the quantity of population above 65 years old in the location.