Fever is one of the common symptoms of COVID-19, and therefore temperature check has now been widely implemented to screen people entering facilities. Several fever screening solutions are available. An infrared thermometer offers an accurate and inexpensive solution, but measurements have to be taken closely and one person at a time, thus unable to support social distancing and crowded facilities. While a thermal imaging camera can accurately screen several people at the same time, it is a costly equipment.
NECTEC Photonics Technology Research Team has developed a thermal scanning system called μTherm FaceSense. It is equipped with an automatic human detection feature and can accurately take measurements of multiple people at the same time. The system takes the temperature through facial scan from a distance of up to 1.5 meters in 0.1 seconds and displays the temperature reading on the screen. If the reading exceeds the value set by the user, the color displayed will change from green to red and an alarm will be triggered. In addition, μTherm FaceSense has a temperature offset feature, NECTEC’s patent, to compensate for humidity and measuring distance, thus providing exceptional accuracy.
The system is easy to install by simply connecting to a display screen using HDMI and has built-in processing and storage units. Data can be exported via LAN cable, 3G/4G or Wi-Fi networks. The next generation will be designed with a server connection, enabling storing and retrieving historical data for real-time monitoring of the COVID-19 spread, making the system perfect for crowded or at-risk places such as hospitals, shopping malls, office buildings and factories.
The performance of μTherm FaceSense has been tested as a preliminary fever screening system at Thammasat University Hospital, processing over 1,000 visitors. Furthermore, it is being tested for compliance with the standards. Forty units will be manufactured for field use in May 2020.