SA getting a new mass-screening weapon to detect the virus
A HELMET fitted with artificial intelligence has been made available to the South African market for the quick screening of the temperatures of multiple people, in efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19.
As the government prepares to ease the lockdown to level 3 at the end of the month, more people are set to go back to work, making it crucial that measures are put in place to help stop the spread of the virus.
South African company Granule Holdings said yesterday that it was distributing a new device in the country that made the mass screening of people easier.
Mass screening made the device especially useful in densely populated residential areas, where physical distancing was difficult to maintain, and the risk of infection was high.
The device is a smart helmet that monitors people for high temperatures in the fight against Covid-19.
The KC N901 smart helmet scans the temperatures of up to 200 people every minute, and had been well received by authorities in countries such as China, Italy, The Netherlands and Dubai, said Granula Holdings chief executive Jeremy Capouya.
It can be used indoors and outdoors, which is important in South Africa with its informal settlements, public transportation hubs, corporates, industrial plants and medical providers.
“It works on temperature recording and keeps a history of the individuals scanned,” he said.
The helmet also incorporates artificial intelligence, in that it makes use of facial recognition and licence plate recognition.
This makes it an efficient and easy device to use for screening at large public areas, busy economic hubs and border control, said Capouya.
While there are already a number of temperature scanning devices on the market, Capouya said the KC N901 smart helmet was distinguished by its ability to perform mass screening, its artificial intelligence features and its environmental versatility.
The KC N901 smart helmet comes with an Advanced RISC Machines (ARM) processor, an augmented reality display screen, an infrared camera for night use, as well as a visible light camera for daytime use.
The wearer can detect the temperature, within 0.3ºC, of people standing about 2m apart.
The device works off-line, and all data is stored on the helmet, which has a 64GB internal memory.
Face recognition allows the device to recognise a person’s face and pull up their personal information from its database.
This makes it an ideal use case for airports, banking sector, mining sites and manufacturing plants, to manage their employees and visitors.