How Infrared Images Could Be Part of Your Daily Life
Written by Sunlight Radio America on July 3, 2020
Welcome to Maplewood, N.J. … in infrared.
As the country reopens, you might start seeing more images like these: real-time heat maps that could find sick people, before they know they are sick. And in a post-quarantine world, you might start having your temperature taken. A lot.
See the cross hair below? That’s where this camera is taking a temperature reading.
A fever is one indicator that someone may be exhibiting coronavirus symptoms, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends temperature screenings in a variety of environments, including schools and businesses.
As shelter-in-place restrictions vary across many cities and counties around the country, officials have begun buying technology like infrared cameras in the hopes of helping track and contain the spread of the outbreak.
I’m a video journalist at The New York Times, and last year, I was trained to use infrared cameras for an article that exposed immense methane leaks at oil and gas facilities, worsening global warming.
When the pandemic took hold, I started seeing more and more companies like Amazon using this technology to help identify sick people in their warehouses. Thermal imaging cameras are beginning to appear in Subway restaurants. Carnival Cruise Lines, whose ships became hot spots for the virus’s spread, said all passengers and crew would be screened when it began sailing again.
The rapid adoption of infrared technology had me wondering how helpful it could be. Several systems are being rolled out, including camera-based ones and others that make people walk through thresholds like metal detectors. Could they actually help contain the spread of the virus while we wait for a vaccine?
A Harris Poll conducted in late March, just after the majority of the shelter measures went into place across the United States, found that 84 percent of respondents favored mandatory health screenings to enter public places.
I got my hands on a temperature-reading infrared camera and hit the streets of Maplewood on a hot summer day last week. I wanted to understand where the camera succeeds and where the challenges are in capturing accurate temperature readings.
Maplewood is part of Essex County. There have been over 18,000 confirmed cases in the county, and over 1,700 related deaths. But like many places in the country, Maplewood is opening back up — albeit mostly outdoors. Streets once filled with cars are now partly filled with outdoor seating for restaurants.
Source: Dnyuz
