London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

This trendy social-distancing bracelet will vibrate when you go somewhere you shouldn’t – and GCHQ has its maker’s back

There’s nothing like a global health crisis to help the tech dream of business control freaks to rein in suspicious masses. A GCHQ-backed firm now offers vibrating wristbands for warehouse owners as a Covid social-distancing tool.

Just two years ago Amazon’s patents for vibrating wristbands, which would track every worker and out those who slack, sent chills down people’s spines, with visions of a dystopian future. Now, a similar device exists, in the plastic-and-electronic flesh – and is marketed as a tool to “accelerate the transition back to safe working across a range of industries” after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Manufactured by Tended, a company based in Lincoln, England, the wristbands had a relatively quiet rollout in May. Sensors in the devices use ultra-wideband technology for proximity detection that doesn’t interfere with regular radio communications.

In theory, workers in construction, logistics and similar industries will be wearing the bracelets to help them keep the prescribed distance of two meters (or whatever their management sets the alert to). All the data will be meticulously logged and analyzed – because if someone gets the virus, all his workplace contacts need to be identified and isolated.

Sounds really good and benign. And so sellable, too: big corporations across the world lose millions each day because they “had to stop running and send their workers home because they can’t effectively enforce safe distancing measures,” Tended CEO Leo Scott Smith explained to local news site Lincolnite.

Smith, whose profile was featured on the site as being among the city’s rising stars under 30, has received £1.4 million ($1.76 million) of private investment and “pushed boundaries with life-saving technology” inspired by his experience working for a charity in Nepal. His wristband project apparently also impressed the spooks at GCHQ, Britain’s signals intelligence agency.

In January the agency selected Tended among eleven firms in Greater Manchester for “technical mentoring” given by GCHQ during the 16-week accelerator program proved invaluable for the startup, Smith told Manchester Evening News this week. The company managed to develop the product in just eight weeks and has received 200 enquiries in two weeks since the launch.

The pandemic was apparently a godsend for Tended, as it sent the potential demand for its wristbands sky-high. They initially wanted to offer their surveillance technology to alert staff at warehouses when large vehicles were nearby. With all the research for the sensors already done, it didn’t take long to come up with a relevant packaging.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×