A year ago today we posted our first Tourbillon forum post. That initial post was not meant to be an April fools joke, however the timing created a lot of fun commentary around the project and motivated us to push forward with making our first ever tourbillon.
The project took on a life of its own through support of yourselves, our engineers, watchmaker and suppliers. The result is a product that exceeded what we had seen on paper and in CAD drawings. With the pre-order extended to May 1st we are extremely grateful to all who have supported this project as we navigate the turbulent times brought on by the coronavirus. Many have written or spoken to us directly about supporting small business in their communities either at home or online and we thank you for considering us as part of your community.
Looking back on our travels to Taiwan and Singapore in February and ahead to what the future entails we have been inspired once again with another project. The next project has some watch product love mixed in, but utilizes the expertise of our in-house IT team based in Taichung, Taiwan.
This past weekend we took our inspiration to the world and participated in the #codevscovid19 hackathon. Over a 72 hour period we constructed the foundation for a technology platform called Finding Covid.
Finding Covid is an opt-in, anonymous infection chain time-stamp platform that makes use of smartphone connectivity and smart wearables like a hybrid watch strap or standalone bracelet. Each time you visit a connected location, like your favourite RedBar meetup you are checked in and out when you leave. If you become ill and after seeing your doctor, you have the choice to upload and share your report with health authorities so they can trace the virus and advise others who might be at risk.
Why do this?
The Western world’s only means at the current moment of community virus prevention is a complete economic shutdown. In contrary to this countries like Taiwan and Singapore have enabled their businesses to remain open due to effective infection chain tracking measures. Taiwan for example has a 9000 person strong virus tracking team that is utilizing both technology and manual means to trace each infection to the source.
In a recent statement from W.H.O. they reiterated 6 points to mitigate virus transmission.
Expand, train and deploy your healthcare and public health workforce
Implement a system to find every suspected case at community level
Ramp up production capacity and availability of testing
Identify, adapt and equip facilities you will use to treat and isolate patients
Develop a clear plan and process to quarantine contacts
Mobilize the entire government to focus on suppressing and controlling COVID-19
Finding Covid's primary focus is on stopping the spread of the virus and notifying when there is a potential risk to a community and therefore it focuses directly on #2, and is a supports all remaining points W.H.O. had addressed.
Why Us?
Small business is the lifeblood of the economy and without it we are unable to provide for our families and better our healthcare systems. Whether it be the local Authorized Dealer, a watch meetup, the mom & pop coffee shop, your favourite restaurant, place of employment or large event like a concert or trade show, all of them contribute to our abilities to provide.
We want to get back to having fun with all of you around the enthusiasm we all share for watches
Looking past the second and third wave or the potential of a new virus our focus is on ensuring our economies alive and enriching peace of mind through technologies. Currently the only means of managing such pandemics is through complete economic shutdown and we all do not want to experience quarantine and job loss as we see at the current moment.
Another exciting aspect of this project was brining our watchmaking expertise to the project. Without compromising our love for mechanical watches we look to a way of integrating a hybrid smart bracelet. Of course this is very conceptual at the moment, but that tourbillon looks pretty futuristic and looks good with a little more silicon integrated in its design 😉. The reasoning for a bracelet is to address children and the elderly that may not have access to a smartphone or those that simply do not use one.
What Can You Do?
Our community is filled with highly educated technophiles and business professionals. If this project resonates with you and you want to be a part of it we would love your support to ensure we can scale this as efficiently and quickly as possible. Comment publicly below with your input or desire to help out or email us at lostintime@horage.com .
Be sure to signup for updates on Finding Covid https://www.findingcovid.com/
Check out a video walk through of the app https://youtu.be/tMcL8CqtmSY
You can also try a demo version of the app. https://projects.invisionapp.com/share/PTWN40KRBJC#/screens
View our submission to #codevscovid1. https://devpost.com/software/test-imbv3u
Heres to all our futures!
Landon Stirling