MAZE the PHL’s first social - distancing app, out soon

By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco | April 20, 2020

SOON you can check if a certain essential area you are going to is crowded or not.

This will be made possible through the Philippines’ first social-distancing app that helps users plan their errands based on the density of an area. It is being developed by iAcademy, in partnership with the Department of Tourism (DOT).

The Maze, set to go live on or before April 28, 2020, aims to reduce the number of people going out at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and to encourage people to avoid crowded areas in observance of continued social distancing even after the Covid outbreak.

The app called Maze targets to address the congestion of people in essential places by providing updated information on the crowd status of a specific area through reports of users who have been in the same location.

Maze, which will be available on web and mobile app, lets users see their current location or choose a location and view the density of an area based on other users’ reports.

The users may send their report on the status of an area’s density by sending a picture as well.

Maze developers, meanwhile, gave assurances that information sent out by users will remain confidential and no personal data will be collected from them.

At present, the app will prioritize the showing of the density of essential areas like groceries, banks, public markets and drug stores—the places where people usually go for common errands. Other features will be added that will include public areas for people who will use the app as a social-distancing measure even after the Covid-19 crisis eases.

“The Maze app helps everyone in making an informed decision whenever they plan to go out for errands. Not only does it encourage people to observe social distancing during the enhanced community quarantine but also instills a mindset to maintain social distancing even after we have successfully flattened the curve. This can still be useful even post-Covid where people might be more cautious in going to crowded areas where they can be susceptible to viruses and other diseases,” said Vanessa Tanco, president and CEO of iAcademy, a Makati-based school that specializes in computing, business and design.

The DOT, which will serve as iAcademy’s partner in the rollout of the Maze app, said that once the app is ready for use, it will be a big help in managing social distancing and reducing the number of people in essential establishments. Aside from DOT, iAcademy also reached out to the Department of Health to explore areas for collaboration on the project.

Through crowdsourcing—an integral strategy in DOT’s marketing and promotional efforts—Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat explained that the more the people use the app and share timely information on the density of the areas near them, the more it will be helpful to a lot of our kababayan who need to go to essential areas like groceries, public markets, banks, and drug stores.

“We gladly extend our partnership with iACADEMY in developing this app to promote social distancing and avoid crowded areas during and even after the pandemic is over. We have previously partnered with iACADEMY in developing the Experience Philippines augmented reality app and we know they are more than capable of producing another game-changing app to help people during the community quarantine period,” the DOT chief said.