Drones are fantastic tools in today’s current environment. Because of the rising cases of the Coronavirus, regular manpower is not readily available. With lockdowns, quarantines, and closing of businesses, it can be very difficult to keep things on the norm. Drones can help in this regard. While they cover the necessary delivery aspect of the food industry, they are capable of doing so much more. Detecting a fever for instance may soon fall to the hands of drones.
Temperature Monitoring
Another amazing thing about a drone’s flight capability is its vantage point. It can see a wide area through the sky. When equipped with thermal lenses, they can even check an entire neighborhood’s health. The drone can assess a person’s temperature to see if they have a fever using thermal scans. In theory, a drone can scan and check for fever at a faster, more efficient pace than someone armed with a thermometer. The drone also makes it impossible to spread the virus, lessening the risk for healthcare workers.
The camera can also pinpoint another possible symptom of the coronavirus – coughing. With a drone’s high-speed camera, they can spot the ‘act’ of coughing even from afar. This can then be used to prioritize temperature scans for the targeted individual. In theory, it can help detect symptoms of the virus and help prioritize actual testing to confirm any cases.
Limitations and Potential
While the symptom-detecting concept still needs a bit of tinkering, a similar idea has been used in the past to help detect violent individuals in a crowd. Using a camera, a drone can detect warning signs and violent actions from above. They can then use this information to call the proper authorities. The scanner has seen action in crowded events, such as festivals and concerts. Using these scans, they can prevent any violence from happening, or stop it as soon as it occurs.
