Pininfarina has recently made a series of announcements about its commitment to search for integrated, ready-to-use solutions for the post-COVID-19 era. This includes a partnership with startup Blimp to integrate physical and digital design, technology and services into a solution that can verify and monitor containment measures in any setting: from public transport to airports and stations and from offices to production plants, shops and large-scale retailers.
Angori believes that designers can and must play a crucial role in shaping the post-COVID-19 world. This is in line with Pininfarina’s “bespokely human” approach to design that explores new possibilities to build the future, transform organizations, help businesses, and enhance everyday experiences.
Silvio Angori started as a researcher at Augusta Westland Helicopters and worked as a senior researcher at Fiat Chrysler Automotive. He then joined ArvinMeritor in Detroit where he held various management roles. In 2007, he joined Pininfarina as COO and in 2009 was elected to his current position as CEO. His management skills and knowledge in the industry has earned the company top innovation awards every year since 2010. Angori is a member of several top American associations and his career has led him to deal with the Indice dei Libri del Mese-the Italian equivalent of the New York Review of Books-where he serves as chairman of the board. He has a master’s degree in theoretical physics from La Sapienza University in Rome and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
The Pininfarina Group, a premier Italian auto and industrial design company, recently announced a strategic partnership with artificial intelligence startup Blimp to launch the first of many ready-to-use solutions for the post-COVID-19 era. First up is Beat-19, a fully integrated physical and digital design platform that will allow governments and businesses to analyze the flow of people in a particular space and monitor how well they are adhering to COVID-19 containment measures. It will work in any public setting – indoors or outdoors.
Beat-19 will make it possible in real time to detect large groups of people in public spaces and, if necessary, prompt them to scatter through acoustic signals. It can monitor lines of people, count the number of nearby entrances and exits, measure body temperatures, and record how well safety measures like face masks and social distancing protocols are being observed. Importantly, the privacy of the individuals in these spaces will be completely protected. The images captured by the technology’s sensor – which is not a camera – are processed directly inside the sensor and immediately deleted.
As Pininfarina CEO Silvio Angori explains, “Design, which has the ability to innovate continuously while enhancing the lives of people in normal times, can provide the response to imagining a new future.” By designing new spaces and equipping them with digital measuring systems to make people safer, Beat-19 perfectly meets the needs of the “new normal.” It is the first major step in finding the right balance between social distancing and interaction.
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