Body temperature scanning system now offered by 170 companies, many with biometric facial recognition

There are now roughly 170 companies selling body temperature scanning and other fever-detection technologies to facilitate safe returns to normal social interaction, according to OneZero, many of them including biometric facial recognition. OneZero draws on an IPVM list, which shows that before the pandemic, there were less than 30 companies in the market.

Six companies, Sunell, FLIR, Dahua, Hikvision, TVT, and YCX, are now supplying thermal cameras for resale to 47 others. FLIR is U.S.-based, the rest are Chinese.

FLIR CEO James Cannon announced in May that the company had booked $100 million in sales related to coronavirus, just in the first quarter.

Tests performed by IPVM show that in optimal conditions, the cameras can detect temperature accurately to within 0.3 degrees Fahrenheit, though the accuracy of some devices were shown to be highly dependent on the distance of the subject.

Some systems scan the temperature at the corner of the eye, which is considered the best area of the body to capture an accurate reading. These scanners can be affected by glasses, however. Others scan the forehead, and can be affected by hair, hats, helmets, or the application of cold or hot compresses, according to OneZero.

Further, with asymptomatic cases making up between 20 and 40 percent of all COVID-19 cases, it is unclear how effective fever checks will be at preventing transmission.

New technologies launched

Intelligent Security Systems (ISS) has built three different systems running on its ISS SecurOS platform to support the safe return to work.

FaceX Facial Recognition provides credentialing and authentication for touchless access control, FaceX Temperature Detection performs automatic body temperature scans, and FaceX Mask Detection supports facility mask requirements.

“Almost every organization across every global region is faced with the same two challenges right now: how to emerge from widespread shutdowns and how to safeguard individual’s health and safety,” says Aluisio Figueiredo, CEO of Intelligent Security Systems. “ISS has harnessed the power of our SecurOS platform with new capabilities that help resolve these challenges in a fast and economical way.”

The company says ISS SecurOS FaceX Face Recognition combines real-time recognition with a complex event processing engine to support many different responses from the system, including locking or unlocking doors, sounding alarms, playing pre-recorded messages, making announcements or logging events.

The temperature detection feature can be implemented with one or multiple thermal cameras to protect personnel already admitted to a facility.

ITCS-WebClock has launched a time and attendance solution with biometric facial recognition, mask detection and body temperature scanning. The touchless time clock sounds an alert if an employee with a fever or without a mask is detected.

Allsee has launched a facial recognition thermometer display with body temperature scanning and mask detection for access control.

The contactless system alerts users if they do not meet criteria for entry, and provides accurate temperature readings within 0.3 degrees Celsius, according to the announcement. It runs a Melexis dual-chip system with a cooling fan and thermal imaging module, measuring ambient temperature as well as body temperature. The system can be installed to a PC or server with varying privileges for users, and includes an integrated ID card reader and different mounting options, such as with a hand sanitizer dispenser.

The company says its 3D facial recognition is 99.7 percent accurate.

Customizable cloud-based robot “WIZO,” which features facial recognition and a range of optional hardware and software capabilities including temperature checking and payments processing has been introduced by DGWorld.

WIZO is the third humanoid robot developed by DGWorld, and the first which it is producing through a manufacturing partnership for reduced cost. The company says that due to its customizability, the robot can be deployed to retail, healthcare, education, transportation, hospitality, entertainment and government environments.

Distribution deal and deployments announced

Trust Think Products has placed an order for 500 units of the new ThermoVu body temperature screening and facial recognition device from Digital Ally for domestic distribution.

ThermoVu provides touchless access control with an audible tone to indicate passage or failure of facility access checks.

“We are proud to be a part of ensuring that people are safe, whether in schools, hospitals, manufacturing facilities, restaurants or other public venues,” states Joe Bisogno, CEO of Trust Think Products. “We believe this opening order for 500 ThermoVu’s indicates the traction the ThermoVu product is gaining in the market place and we are excited to partner with Digital Ally to get ThermoVu to the people that need this safety technology the most right now.”

The order is expected to ship in the third quarter of 2020.

Silco Fire and Security, a company based in Ohio, has developed a thermal imaging system with facial recognition to support building safety, local affiliate ABC 6 reports.

There are two versions, a dual-camera system which hooks up to a display to show real-time temperature readings, and a tablet-style device which can be integrated with existing building security systems.

The cameras have been deployed to the Union County Justice Center in Marysville and Patriot Preparatory Academy in Columbus.

At Plaza Minorista in Medellin, Columbia, a body temperature scanning system performs facial recognition and collects age, gender, and mask-wearing data to perform risk assessments, the BBC reports. The system scans up to 200 people per minute, and sounds an alarm if a fever or incorrectly worn mask is detected.

The market includes more than 3,300 vendors, and is visited by 15,000 people each day.

Cities like Medellin could collapse if they are unable to keep markets open, though privacy watchdogs have warned of substantial risks to using AI and collecting personal data, according to the report.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  contactless biometrics  |  Dahua Technology  |  DGWorld  |  Digital Ally  |  facial recognition  |  fever detection  |  FLIR  |  HIKVISION  |  Intelligent Security Systems (ISS)  |  ITCS-WebClock  |  temperature monitoring  |  thermal