Brussels-based executive said it will be responsible for managing a central gateway for national apps to 'talk' to each other.
Achieving practical interoperability for such 'decentralised' apps is weeks away
European Union member states have agreed technical standards for interoperability between smartphone apps that track the risk of coronavirus infections, a step that could help revive travel and tourism, the bloc's Commission said on Tuesday.
In an announcement coinciding with the launch of Germany's app, the Brussels-based executive said it will be responsible for managing a central gateway for national apps to 'talk' to each other.
"As we approach the travel season, it is important to ensure that Europeans can use the app from their own country wherever they are travelling in the EU," Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement.
"Contact tracing apps can be useful to limit the spread of coronavirus, especially as part of national strategies to lift confinement measures," he added.
Germany, Italy, Poland, and Latvia have launched Bluetooth-based apps using technology from Apple and Alphabet's Google that logs contacts on the device, an approach backed by a majority of the EU's 27 member states.
Achieving practical interoperability for such 'decentralised' apps is weeks away, according to sources involved in discussions on the matter, which would make it possible to trace infection risks across borders.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
Is Mi Notebook 14 series the best affordable laptop range for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.
Get your daily dose of tech news, reviews, and insights, in under 80 characters on Gadgets 360 Turbo. Connect with fellow tech lovers on our Forum. Follow us on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News for instant updates. Catch all the action on our YouTube channel.