How to Create and Implement a Contact Tracing System Using AWS IoT Core and SafeTrack Lite

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact communities globally, organizations are diligently adapting to new norms—whether that involves remote learning, virtual meetings, or outdoor activities. Alongside these adjustments, they face a pressing question: how can we effectively respond to viral outbreaks if a case arises?

For a successful response, institutions need robust contact tracing capabilities to identify those who have been exposed. The challenge lies in whether these organizations have the necessary resources to instill confidence among their stakeholders.

Each COVID-19 case typically requires tracing an average of 36 contacts. Even if organizations dedicate just 15 minutes to reach out to each individual, the effort could accumulate to nine hours—equivalent to a full workday—just to notify those who have been in contact with a single infected person. Moreover, with 15 percent of cases leading to at least one secondary infection that remains unidentified, nearly one in six cases does not stop at the initial infected individual, even with thorough contact tracing.

Addressing this complex issue, CareBand’s SafeTrack provides a feasible solution. This guide explores how to leverage CareBand’s technology along with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a contact tracing solution that incorporates two main components:

1. Collecting data from CareBand’s SafeTrack wearables and integrating it with AWS IoT.
2. Utilizing AWS services to generate reports of individuals exposed to confirmed COVID-19 cases.

To kickstart the platform, CareBand collaborated with Trek10, an AWS Premier Consulting Partner and Managed Service Provider (MSP) renowned for its expertise in architecting, building, and managing serverless applications on AWS. Trek10 holds AWS Competencies in IoT, DevOps, and SaaS, and their AWS service validations include AWS IoT Core, AWS Lambda, Amazon API Gateway, and Amazon DynamoDB—all instrumental in designing and building CareBand’s SafeTrack contact tracing solution.

Solution Overview

CareBand specializes in location-based safety and health IoT products. Their primary wearable device, crafted for individuals with dementia, delivers real-time tracking to minimize wandering incidents and monitor health-related behavior changes. Recently, this technology has been adapted to address COVID-19 risks by creating SafeTrack, an automated contact tracing and social distancing solution.

In response to the pandemic, health authorities globally have formed task forces for manual contact tracing, but this approach relies heavily on trust in the infected person’s ability to accurately retrace their movements and is often prone to error. SafeTrack mitigates these issues by employing automated, proprietary machine learning algorithms to calculate distances between individuals in accordance with CDC guidelines.

SafeTrack automatically generates customizable contact tracing reports based on the interactions of infected individuals, eliminating the need for manual tracing teams. To meet the demand for efficient contact tracing, AWS’s serverless infrastructure provides a swift and reliable framework for building a digital solution.

The SafeTrack wearable integrates seamlessly with the LoRaWAN network server via AWS IoT Core, allowing for secure and rapid offloading of contact tracing data to AWS.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

The architecture involves the following steps:

1. The SafeTrack wearable collects interaction data with other SafeTrack devices in the field.
2. When within range of a LoRaWAN gateway, the wearable automatically connects to the network.
3. The LoRaWAN gateway’s network server transmits the wearable’s data to AWS IoT Core.
4. The Rules Engine in AWS IoT Core triggers a Lambda function to decode the message and create a record in Amazon DynamoDB.
5. Amazon API Gateway allows frontend applications (SafeTrack Lite) to access device data and compile contact tracing reports.

Prerequisites

To begin, ensure you have the following:

• An AWS account with access permissions for AWS IoT Core, AWS Lambda, and Amazon DynamoDB.
• CareBand’s SafeTrack Demo Kit.
• A LoRaWAN gateway and Helium (sign up for access to Helium Console).
• A SafeTrack Lite account (request an account).

Tutorial Overview

• Steps 1 to 2: Setting up the LoRaWAN connection
• Steps 3 to 5: Establishing the AWS infrastructure
• Steps 6 to 10: Configuring SafeTrack Lite and conducting a test

Setting Up the LoRaWAN Connection

This tutorial utilizes Helium to establish and manage the LoRaWAN network. Helium is creating the first peer-to-peer wireless network designed to simplify device connectivity by incentivizing individuals to become network operators. Their service is already operational in over 2,000 cities and continues to expand. You can check their network coverage map to see if a Helium network is available near you.

SafeTrack wearables link to nearby Helium Hotspots, which mine HNT (a cryptocurrency) by providing LoRaWAN network coverage for these devices.

Step 1: Configure AWS IoT Integration on Helium Console

1. Log in to the Helium Console.
2. Add the AWS IoT Core integration by selecting the Integrations tab and choosing AWS IoT Core under Custom Integrations.
3. Confirm the details, using the Access Key and Secret Key from your credentials, entering them in their respective fields.
4. For region, this guide uses us-east-1, with the topic set to helium-devices.
5. Name your integration (SafeTrack is recommended, but any name suffices).
6. Apply a label, creating a new label called SafeTrack.
7. Complete the integration by clicking Create Integration.

Step 2: Register SafeTrack Devices on Helium Console

1. Log in to the Helium Console.
2. Add the two SafeTrack wearables by selecting the Devices tab and choosing Add a new Device. Refer to Helium’s documentation for further guidance.
3. Fill out the fields as follows:
• Name: ST20-1
• Enter the Dev EUI, App EUI, and App Key provided in the SafeTrack Demo Kit.
4. Attach a Label to associate with the earlier created integration (SafeTrack) and click Submit.
5. Repeat these steps for the second device.

For further insights on this topic, you might find this blog post helpful. You can also check out this authority on the subject. Lastly, for community discussions and resources around AWS and its applications, this Reddit thread is an excellent place to start.