Automatic COVID-19 detection unit from Nokia scans for symptoms and mask

By Rahul Vaimal, Associate Editor
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Nokia COVID-19 Detection System
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Finnish multinational mobile device and component maker Nokia has developed a new automated system that uses real-time video analytics and thermal imaging to detect whether a person has COVID-19 symptoms and they are wearing a mask or not. 

The mobile device manufacturer which developed the unit to offer protection to its employees as they return to work has been using this system in its factory in Chennai, India to screen over 200,000 people in the facility over the last two months.

The 1000-employee facility was recently reopened after it was forced to close down for several months to comply with Indian regulations following the coronavirus outbreak

Mr. Amit Shah, Nokia’s head of Analytics and IoT briefed the media stating that the system can detect whether a person has a high temperature or is not wearing his face-mask before alerting the control center if the case of a discrepancy.

The unit comes with its own privacy settings to ensure that the faces can be blurred to comply with local regulations as and where required. The system can be deployed across different locations and can be monitored from an integrated control center bypassing the need to have a  person at every checkpoint to ensure compliance with safety measures.

Mr. Shah mentioned that “Nokia factories and R&D centers are deploying this” adding that talks are in “pretty advanced stages” with stakeholders from North America, Latin America and Asia for the deployment of the system across diverse sectors including schools and government buildings.

The firm stated that buyers will be able to expand the system by adding other features like maintenance modules, security threats and predictive surveillance.

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