A British study indicates that chewing gum could increase your concentration. Whether it will be due to chewing gum or not, we figure businesses will need to sharpen their concentration to be sure reopening will be successful.
As non-essential businesses are beginning to open back up, they require new protocols and it looks like technology will play a major role in these efforts to keep customers and employees safe.
While practices such as wearing face masks and stepping up disinfecting are expected for any business reopening, businesses also need to control the number of people they let in. To help manage large crowds, Philips has created a system called PeopleCount that uses a combination of cameras for real-time tracking of people entering a facility, coupled with screens outside a location to let people know how long their wait will be. The system can even be tied into automatic doors to keep them from opening until there is a spot available for the next individual waiting. Additionally, these screens can double as a communicating mechanism by occasionally flashing important messages while people are waiting.
Whereas some businesses will simply be scanning people's foreheads for temperature readings outside of their doors, there are other advanced technology options too. One such option is a thermal camera that was created specifically for COVID-19 and is touted as being "artificially intelligent" to determine if anyone entering a location has a fever. Meanwhile, other biometrics companies have upgraded facial recognition systems to include the ability to read a person's temperature.
Furthermore, facial recognition systems have adapted too. One company's facial recognition system has been upgraded to not only read temperatures but to also identify individuals even if they are wearing a mask -- an important feature at the moment, particularly as people are hesitant to use touchpoint biometrics. Touchpoint biometrics, including fingerprint scanners, involve multiple people having contact with the same surface.
Meanwhile, UVC technology and ozone-based technologies are being explored for their killing-virus effects too. Fred Maxik, the founder and chief scientific officer for a lighting company and a former NASA scientist, is touting what he says is the "first-ever human-safe Far-UVC technology" being reviewed by retailers to safely disinfect clothes after customers have tried them on. Ozone-based technologies also promise to disinfect clothes with 99.95% certainty within one hour and are currently being tested against COVID-19 specifically. This could possibly even be used to disinfect cloth face masks.
There are many technologies that are coming out to fight the coronavirus. Some of these technologies could be used by your institution possibly and others could be used by your business customers as they reopen, to keep customers and employees safe. Either way, it is important to know about the myriad of technologies that have sprung up. But, as always, be sure to check with your legal team before implementing anything new.
