SENSORS, TEST & MEASUREMENT | SOCIAL DISTANCING
“We have created Bump to solve
these two issues – to give people
confidence that it’s possible to return
to work safely, and provide employers
with the assurances they need before
they can open up responsibly.
“This is a simple, intuitive and
friendly system specifically designed
to get people working again by
changing the behaviour of individuals
and businesses – and in doing so help
regenerate our economy.”
Devices have been developed to
be worn in designated workspaces,
such as offices, warehouses,
laboratories, manufacturing centres
and canteens.
Tharsus estimates that Bump could
help millions of people control their
personal safety at work and allow
many companies to accelerate their
return-to-work strategies.
Early stage implementation is now
underway following a period of robust
testing at Tharsus’ headquarters in
Blyth, Northumberland.
Development began shortly after
the UK Government announced
strict social-distancing measures
to tackle the spread of the COVID-
19 pandemic. Tharsus developed
Bump as a specific response to
these measures in order to enable
businesses to get back to work, help
workers feel safe and empowered in
their workplace and accelerate the
UK’s economic recovery.
Tharsus is one of the UK’s
smartest robotics companies and
has a long track record of delivering
progressive, robust and innovative
technology solutions for companies
such as DHL, Ocado, Rolls Royce,
Automata and Small
Robot Co.
Tharsus are producing
proud to have worked
with Tharsus to develop
Bump – a product we think
will be a game-changer in
helping ensure safe and
productive workplaces
2,500 devices during May
for a range of trial partners
representing key sectors
of the economy to test, learn
and establish best practice
of the Bump system before it is
made available for commercial use
from late June 2020. The technology
conforms with all Government HSE
policies, GDPR and complements
other health and safety strategies.
Tharsus is working with Virscient,
a New Zealand-based specialist in
wireless connectivity and IoT, in the
development of Bump is supporting
Tharsus in the technical delivery of
Bump from conception through to
production.
Dave Swan, CTO of
Tharsus, said: “We all
agreed in the early stages
of Bump’s development,
that any product needed
to help people feel safe.
Today, this is as much
about protecting privacy as
it is helping people keep their
distance. We designed Bump with
this in mind and to ensure wearers
don’t need to sacrifice data privacy.
All data is available to an individual
business and their team members
alike. Everyone knows when the data
is collected, why it’s being collected,
and by whom.”
Dr Dean Armstrong, founder and
CTO of Virscient, said: “We’re very
proud to have worked with Tharsus
to develop Bump – a product we
think will be a game-changer in
helping ensure safe and productive
workplaces in a post-COVID world.
From our very first discussions it
was apparent that the Tharsus team
had a deep understanding of the
needs of workplaces and a strong
desire to do their bit to help these
employers get back up and running
quickly.”
Tharsus is also being supported by
Arca Blanca, an integrated consulting
and data company who specialise in
business design and implementation.
Arca Blanca has a deep expertise
in helping organisations thrive in
the face of disruption by adopting
new ways of working and new
technologies. !
“We’re very
in a post-COVID
world”
24 WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK | JUNE 2020
/WWW.EUREKAMAGAZINE.CO.UK