London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 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
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×