StopCovid: One of the designers promises that the app won’t drain the battery too much

StopCovid, the person tracking application that should accompany the curfew in France, is not yet installed on our smartphones. Far from there. And certainly not before June 2, when the second phase of quarantine begins. However, it already makes too much noise. Many questions arise about the effectiveness of such an app and the use of personal data collected to determine the mode of transmission and to alert a user who has been in contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus.

One of the recurring questions battery consumption. In fact, in order to be able to detect nearby smartphones, the app needs to search using it constantly. Bluetooth protocol. For example, it’s the same protocol used to connect a phone to an interactive speaker, a connected accessory (game controller, watch, fitness bracelet), or wireless headset. Using this protocol all the time has an impact on the battery. How much is left to see.

Consumes 0.5% to 3.5% of battery

Micha Benolliel is the founder of the company. loop. It is one of the companies responsible for the development of StopCovid under the leadership of INRIA. Participated in the creation of Nodle The Coalition, the equivalent of StopCovid, was launched in the United States. Nodle’s role at StopCovid is to design the brick dedicated to Bluetooth. Either exactly the phone used to connect with another phone. In an interview with colleagues at 01Net, Micha Benolliel confirms that StopCovid’s impact on the battery is relatively limited. Estimated: 0.5% to 3.5%.

Behind this estimate comes another question: What is the capacity of the battery used to make this estimate? 0.5% of the battery of the Galaxy S20 and 3.5% of the battery of the Galaxy S20 Ultra are not the same thing. Frankly, we are concerned that 3.5% is power consumption for a small battery and 0.5% for a large battery. He also explains that the Bluetooth protocol is very sensitive. When used at a distance of 2 meters (a little over 1.5 meters) and works even indoors, unlike GPS and GSM networks.

Micha Benolliel also turns to two recurring questions: the anonymity of people and the refusal to use Apple and Google’s APIs. he claimsno personal data is transferred between smartphones, just a random identifier. he adds Apple and Google APIs consume more power Even more so than the chosen solution, even if this causes some complications in the accuracy of the results. And there too, a recurring problem…

Source : 01Network