Abfotografieren eines QR-Codes

Collecting contact data for on-site events

Simple and efficient with the QRoniton system. Here are answers to frequently asked questions​
Abfotografieren eines QR-Codes
Image: Gerd Altmann, pixabay, bearb. v. Liana Franke
Attention

The collection of contact data with QRoniton will be suspended as of April 2022 until further notice. From now on, you are encouraged to use the Federal Government's Corona alert app for individual tracking of infection chains:

https://www.coronawarn.app/en/External link 

 

 

The university reacts to the increasing number of corona infections, also in Jena, by reducing the number of on-site events to the absolutely necessary minimum. In order for these events to remain possible in lecture halls and seminar rooms, as well as the visit in the library or the shared use of student workstations, it is necessary to collect the contact data of students, teachers and other users. In this way, if an infection occurs, the recorded data can be made available to the public health department quickly and the infection can be contained quickly. When tracking contacts, the university relies on QR codes that are scanned with smartphones to record the presence in a room. How registration by QR code works with the QRoniton system, what possibilities the system offers and answers to further questions can be found here.

Please also take note of our privacy noticepdf, 62 kb · de on the system for tracing infection chains described above.

If you have any questions, suggestions, feedback or ideas regarding the technology used, or if you would like to register for the generation of QR codes for use in other rooms, please contact the Office Digital University. If you would like to equip your own or other rooms with QR codes, send the room data to this e-mail address in table form, each with postcode, address, room type, room number, capacity (optional) and a keyword for room description.

How it works in detail:

In our lecture theatres and many other rooms, you will find QR codes, which you can use as follows:

  1. In your browser, go to https://uni-jena.qroniton.euExternal link (only in German).
  2. There you will find instructions for the Qroniton system, followed by a ‘START’ button. Click the button.
  3. If you are using the system for the first time, you will need to enter your name, telephone number and the post code of your semester address once. This is the minimum amount of data that the public health department needs to track chains of contact.
  4. Click on the ‘Scan’ button to register your presence in a room. You may now need to allow or confirm the use of your camera by the browser. Now hold the smartphone in front of the QR code so that it is clearly visible and as straight as possible in the camera image of your browser.
  5. Once the code has been successfully recorded, you can click on the time you will spend in the room, e.g. 90 minutes for a lecture. Alternatively, you can click on ‘Short-term contact’ or ‘Check-in’, which we explain further down in the FAQ.
  6. Confirm your selection – and that’s it!

Smartphones usually offer on-board apps or functions for scanning QR codes. You can also use these to scan one of our codes directly, so as to access the QRoniton page and enter your personal details and length of stay.

You can use a different mobile device without any problems: QRoniton does not require any user account or password (for optional PIN, see ‘Why create a PIN?’). Just enter your personal details again on the other device and scan a QR code. If you have to use another person’s device, you can also open incognito tab in the browser (see ‘Smartphone forgotten, battery empty...’).

Further questions and answers

Why does my QR code no longer work?

In rare cases, changes in the system make it necessary to re-register. This was the case, for example, on 9 November 2021, when we set up the additional registration of the e-mail address. In such cases, the previously created QR codes also become invalid and can no longer be used. So if your printout does not work, try creating a new one.

Why do I need to register a new e-mail address?

In order to reach contact cases more quickly, an e-mail address is now also requested. This requires a one-time re-registration before the next check-in. Make sure you enter no spaces before or after the email address.

I don’t have a smartphone – what do I do?

You can still use the system if you do not have a smartphone, tablet or other suitable mobile device. You can create your own personal QR code on a PC and print it out. In the lecture theatre, you will then need the help of a fellow student or your lecturer to photograph first your personal QR code and then the QR code of the room. In detail:

Creating and printing a personal QR code

  1. Visit the website https://uni-jena.qroniton.euExternal link (German only).
  2. Click on ‘START’ and enter your personal details – at least your name and telephone number, and the post code of your semester address, are required by the health authority. Activate the option ‘User without smartphone’.
  3. You will now be invited to create a PIN. This is optional and is described further in the FAQ under ‘Why create a PIN?’.
  4. Your personal QR code will then appear. Print the code and take it to the university.

Using the personal QR code

  1. For this, you need another person’s help: show your printed QR code to another person in the room.
  2. That person has to scan the code, either with the smartphone’s own QR code scanner or using the ‘Scan’ button in QRoniton.
  3. Next, scan the QR code of the room.
  4. Select the duration of your stay, as usual – and that’s it!

Need a device?

In this case, you can ask about the possibility of borrowing a laptop through our Laptop donation action.

Forgotten my smartphone, battery empty… – what now?

A fellow student or your lecturer can help:

  1. As a rule, that other person has already entered their personal details in their browser to register for QRoniton. However, they can open an incognito tab, for example in Android/Chrome using the menu in the top-right corner (three dots), by selecting ‘New incognito tab’.
  2. You can register there by entering the personal data once and scanning, as you did the first time.

After confirmation, just close the tab and the data entered will not be saved on the other person’s device.

What happens in the event of an infection?
  1. The health authority will give us the name and telephone number of the person concerned.
  2. Using this data, the system will retrieve a list of all registered contacts of the last four weeks.
  3. This list will be provided to the health authority, which will immediately begin to trace contacts. If necessary, the health authority can also ask the relevant lecturers for additional information, for example about ventilation in the room, in order to better estimate the actual likelihood of infection.

Division 4 is the contact point on working days. In order to be able to respond quickly and reliably outside the normal working times and at weekends between 08:00 and 22:00, many volunteers from the university’s administration are working hard to provide help.

What does ‘My QR code’ offer?

Perhaps you are planning an event, an excursion or field trip, or something similar, and you would like to record all contacts. For this purpose, you can create your own QR code that is valid for 24 hours.

This is how to do it:

  1. Open QRoniton. Click on ‘My QR Code’ in the overview. Alternatively, open the menu top right and, under ‘My Status’, select ‘Personal QR code’.
  2. A new, personal QR code will be displayed. Print the code and use it for your event.
  3. The participants will be able to scan your QR code at the start of the event, just like a room code.
Why the distinction between guest and organiser?

As a lecturer, organiser or in comparable roles, you are responsible for ensuring that hygiene plans are adhered to and that distances are observed, rooms are ventilated, etc. In the event of an infection, you may be asked about these circumstances by the public health department to assess the likelihood of further infections at your event. After scanning the QR code in your room, in addition to selecting the duration of the stay, please also select the option ‘Organiser’. This helps the authorities to identify you quickly as the organiser and enlist your help.

As a student or participant in an event, please select the standard option ‘Guest’.

Increased security requirement – why create a PIN?

The allocation of a PIN is optional. If you are concerned that other people might register in your name without authorisation, you can ensure your security with a PIN.

Creating a PIN

After entering your personal details, activate the option ‘Increased Security Requirement’. Next, enter at least four digits to create a new PIN.

Using and checking your PIN

As soon as you have scanned a QR code to register in a room, you will be asked to enter your PIN. The pin entered will then be saved together with the registration of your presence in the room. Please note: the registration will always be saved, even if an incorrect PIN is entered, for example because of a typing error or because you simply forgot the correct PIN. However, if contacts are traced due to a report of an infection, the responsible authorities can distinguish between entries with a correct or an incorrect PIN and, if necessary, respond in that individual case.

What about information security?

Your data are stored exclusively on servers in Germany. To prevent unauthorised access, you are protected using symmetric and asymmetric encryption methods and transport encryption. Only employees of the University of Jena and the public health department who are involved in contact chain tracing can and may access this data in case of infection. The manufacturer and operator of the Qroniton system have no access. The software provides detailed information on data protection hereExternal link (German only). For technical details on the encryption and numerous other functionalities of the software, we refer you to the WhitepaperExternal link (German only).

Can the system be used to check attendance?

The system is not suitable for checking attendance at workstations or in lectures. From a registration in a room recorded in the system, it cannot be deduced with certainty that it was actually entered there, nor that it was entered by the correct person. Furthermore, the data is only accessible to those involved in tracking chains of infection.

What happens in the case of technical problems?

Should the QRoniton service fail, the network be unavailable or any other technical circumstance prevent the QR Code-based contact recording service from being used, lectures must of course still be continued. In such a case, we can also use the registration details in Friedolin. However, these data provide a less precise picture of the actual presence of individuals at lectures or seminars, so that this is only an emergency solution.

Short-term contact and check-in – what are they?

Short term contact

Immediately after scanning the QR code of a room, you will be asked to select the time of your stay there. Instead of entering a time in minutes, you can click on the short-term contact if you will be in the room for five minutes or less.

Check-in

If you are staying in a room for a longer period of time but cannot estimate the duration at the beginning, check-in will help you:

  1. After scanning a QR code, click on the "Check-In" button when entering a room instead of entering a time in minutes.
  2. If you leave the room again later, you can scan the QR code again, this time "Check-Out" will be preselected. Confirm your selection - Done!

If you forget to check out, you will be automatically checked out after twelve hours.

Troubleshooting – why is it not working?

Problems with the browser

We have observed isolated problems in browsers with particularly strict data protection settings, e.g. Firefox Klar. In such cases, try to use another browser for the use of QRoniton and report your problem to us so that we can find a solution together and inform other users accordingly.

Damaged or missing QR Code posters

A damaged QR code can no longer be read and must therefore be replaced. Usually you will find several copies in the rooms. Please try the check-in with one of them and let us know so that we can replace the damaged code.

QR Codes that do not work

In some cases, QR codes could be scanned, but this led to an error. Please report such problems to us so that we can quickly find a solution.

Spaces before or after the email address

Currently, the registration form does not accept spaces before or after the entered email address. Often these accidentally get into the input field when copying and pasting or through autocomplete. Remove the spaces and try again.

How is this related to the Corona Warn App?

The Corona Warn App gives a notice to all users who have had contact with an infected person. For this purpose, the distance between their smartphones is continuously measured and recorded if necessary. The approach of QRoniton is a different one: Here you actively register for a stay in one of the rooms of the University of Jena and would be contacted directly by the public health department in case of infections in this environment.

These approaches can complement each other very well and you can use both systems at the same time.