Air Force Seeks Info on Wearable Devices for Early COVID-19 Detection

The U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX unit has issued a request for information on commercial wearable technologies that could help detect COVID-19 infections early and send alerts to users by providing insight into heart rate fluctuations, oxygen levels and other biometric data.

An RFI notice posted Tuesday says AFWERX is looking to buy 10K units of wearable devices in partnership with the Office of the Joint Surgeon General and in support of the Pandemic Case Management Suite, an operational requirement that seeks to support the service’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. 

AFWERX wants interested stakeholders to respond to nine questions about their technologies, including the capability of the device to operate without Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or GPS tracking, protection of users’ privacy, user adoption rate and involvement of foreign companies in the company’s supply chain. Respondents can also share brochures, white papers, commercial product lists and other materials related to their platforms.

The wearable devices should not track the users’ locations or store or collect personally identifiable information, according to the RFI. 

Responses are due Nov. 20.