14 DAY TRIAL // An American company called Athena Security has adapted a surveillance camera system that was previously used to detect weapons to automatically check the body temperature of the scanned individuals and issue alerts should high fever be detected.
This could help discover symptoms of COVID-19 early and prevent the virus from spreading if it’s installed in public locations like supermarkets and hospitals, the firm says.
“Our Fever Detection COVID19 Screening System is now apart of our platform along with our gun detection system which connects directly to your current security camera system to deliver fast, accurate threat detection – including guns, knives, and aggressive action. Our system can also alert you to falls, accidents, and unwelcome visitors,” the company explains on its website.
No facial recognition used
In a statement for Motherboard, Christopher Ciabarra, a co-founder of Athena, explains that the thermal cameras analyze the temperature in the eyes, as this is the one that’s the closest to the actual temperature of the body. Once a higher temperature than normal is detected, the system sends an alert to the client.
“We actually detect the person on the AI side, then we detect the face, and we look for the eyes. We take the temperature of the eyes because that's the closest point to the core of the person's body temperature. Since higher temperature is one of the first symptoms, these cameras can be life-saving— warning the person that they could have the virus and encouraging that person to take serious steps to self-quarantine,” he said.
While thermal cameras have been around for a long time, Athena Security says their system offers an accuracy that’s within half a degree and can even measure the temperature in other parts of the body.
And because privacy is a critical thing, the company explains that no facial recognition is being used for the system, as the only thing its system does is measure the temperature without personal tracking.
