IIT alumni's drone uses thermal screening to recognize likely corona infected persons
Three alumni of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) have developed a drone equipped with infrared camera that may assist in thermal screening of groups without human intervention and identify likely COVID-19 infected individuals at an early stage after the lockdown is lifted.
The drone also offers a loudspeaker which works extremely well by personnel to monitor places especially with high disease prevalence and present appropriate instructions.
The alumni team from IIT Guwahati, which includes founded a set up called Marut Dronetech, has already been conducting trial runs in coordination with state governments of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh besides Trichy Municipal Corporation.
"After the lockdown is eased, and people start gathering it'll be difficult to make sure physical distancing and hence enhanced threat of virus spread till the time situation is completely in charge," Prem Kumar Vislawath, an electric and communications engineering graduate, told PTI.
"Drones are being designed for lot of alternative activities including delivery of foods and medicines and spraying disinfectants. We realised that to limit the risk of medical personnel getting infected while conducting temperature checks, drones built with infrared cameras to test temperature measurements may be used," he said.
"Any abnormalities could be marked as suspects for COVID-19. This information can be utilised by health personnel and officials to take further measures. This will help in the identification of infection in a person at a much early stage and will prove to be essential in today's scenario," he added.
Another team member, Suraj Peddi, the group tested different ways to calibrate airborne infrared cameras to measure body's temperature.
"Results showed that by installing a cotton swab within the field of view of the thermal camera, the camera will get a precise reading. The calibrated drone camera can then be used to measure body temperatures as the officer remains at a safe distance away. As the results are encouraging, it is essential to say this solution isn't designed to be utilized for standard medical procedures," he added.
