Architect Cosimo Scotucci has designed Physx, a dynamic system that ‘walks’ with people, reminding them to respect social distance
It is often not easy to respect social distance. In public spaces or outdoors, people can get too close to each other and risk becoming infected with the Coronavirus. Up to now, to avoid crowds have often been used static solutions – such as stickers on the floor – suggesting to people where to stop. These devices are not very effective and often end up generating confusion. Architect Cosimo Scotucci has come up with a very ingenious alternative solution. It is the first dynamic model of social distancing. Physx – this is the name of the project – uses an elastic fibre raised fifty centimetres above the ground. When a person steps on this rubberized surface, the system automatically generates a ‘safe zone’, i.e. a coloured circle of one and a half metres around the subject. The zones ‘move’ along with the person as they walk. When approaching too closely, the areas become blurred, demonstrating that social distancing measures are not being respected.
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Physx: the social distancing system that “walks”
Physx is the brainchild of young Italian architect Cosimo Scotucci. In a recent interview, Scotucci explained that ‘the project is inspired by astrophysics. The membrane behaves like the space-time theorised by Einstein. It bends, expands and contracts based on the pressure exerted by a mass and the gravity it generates. The biggest difficulty was inventing the membrane, because to date there is no type of elastic material that changes colour when subjected to pressure. Physx does not need any kind of energy supply to function: it is 100% self-sufficient and can be installed outdoors or indoors. In addition, it operates at any temperature in any weather. At the moment, the Physx system is still in the design phase. “The goal,” Scotucci explained, “is to make a royalty-free product so that companies around the world can develop it and help in the fight against the virus,” he said.
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