We all know that these are strange times we are currently living in. As our country and the world continues to fight the Covid-19 epidemic, new ways to easily detect symptoms are becoming the frontline of protection. Specifically, the travel industry has been hit hard with most consumers following “stay at home” orders and airlines flying with mostly empty seats. The ability to easily identify symptoms may help airport personnel quickly and efficiently identify individuals with potential illnesses.
The help airlines become more efficient, many companies are beginning to develop programs and partnerships with camera vendors which have specialized lenses to help detect and monitor infections diseases. Many of these systems combine the ability to detect temperature information from thermal camera lenses, identifying contaminated area while monitoring dense crowds and following passenger flow and interaction.
One of these companies developing software and partnerships is Amorph Systems. The managing director, Mr. Frauenhoffer has stated that “Airports are under incredible pressure right now, as they address exceptional operational issues caused by COVID-19,”. Going on to say that, “Our application will help them manage the current situation and prepare for future waves of COVID-19 or other potential virus outbreaks.”
This technology coupled with Amorph Systems applications takes a sensory approach by collection data, analyzing it, making on the fly decisions to protect the health and safety of passengers and staff within airports. These systems are integrated with security cameras gathered by thermal camera using computer vision technology. The data is quickly analyzed and can be used to determine if there is an effected area which can then be closed to stop potential outbreaks limit its ability to spread. Face detection is used to capture biometric details which is only used by airport security while the actual personal details remain anonymous to everyone else.
Frauenhoffer discussed the ability to create additional check points within airport stating, “In the future this could be another checkpoint that airport operators enforce,”. Asian states already have similar systems in place and it is likely that other countries will soon follow suit, implementing similar regulations. Beyond identifying potential hazards, the optical systems could also be used to measure passenger density to ensure certain areas do not exceed airport safety capacity standards. “We provide a combination of system modules that can be used to cope with various use cases, as well as to simulate what will happen if, for example, density gets too high,” he said.
These systems integrated a full solutions system at the Helsinki airports and others within just a few weeks and they will likely to be critical in getting other businesses and retailers up and running during these unusual COVID-19 times. Custom lenses play a role in all CCTV, security and many other applications coming to the forefront of inspection and optical identification to help solve future issues.