Friday, 1 May 2020, 2:42 pmPress Release: University of Canterbury

The University of Canterburys Mechanical Engineeringexperts are among the Kiwi innovators battling againstCOVID-19.

While commercial devices for crowd feverdetection exist, the global pandemic has made them hard tocome by. The CacophonyProject and2040 developed low-cost smart thermal camera systems fortracking the predators that threaten New Zealands nativebirds, and have been pivoting the technology to meet thisurgent need.

Working with the University ofCanterbury, Callaghan Innovation, and the AucklandBioengineering Institute with testing, calibration andwriting for the instruction manual, they have repurposedtheir technology for crowd fever scanning at a safedistance. The system can measure forehead temperature to+/-0.5C without a human operator.

UC mechanicalengineers JulianPhillips, Lecturer TimGiffney and Professor MarkJermy have developed a temperature reference to give aconstant check calibration of these devices. The devices areunder trial and hoped to be implemented shortly to curb thespread of the virus.

If thermal imaging cameras aredeployed for temperature screening, this stable temperaturereference can help with accuracy. We hope this stablein-frame temperature reference could be useful as a simple,rapidly deliverable approach, UC Engineering Lecturer TimGiffney says.

By putting a stable temperaturesource in view of the camera, the system can continuouslycheck its reading, and make adjustments, UC Engineeringtechnician Julian Phillips adds.

The main challengein developing the reference was coming up with a design thatcould be rapidly built with minimal resources, and fromlocal supplies as international freight is at an almostcomplete standstill.

Fortunately I have quite awell-equipped workshop at home, needing only a few items tobe obtained from UC, Phillips says. In January Itravelled to Tonga to support a team of ourUC biomedical engineering students working on donatedmedical equipment. The experience of working underconstrained resources was good preparation for working underlockdown a similar level of flexibility and tenacity isrequired to get the job done.

About 30 soldiersfrom Burnham, as well as New Zealand Police officers, wereused to test and calibrate the cameras. To help control thespread of COVID-19 it is envisaged the cameras will be usedat airports, hospitals, supermarkets and otherworkplaces.

You can read more about the projecthere:

Coronavirus:Thermal imaging cameras to spot symptoms could be part ofnew normal

Kiwiinventors set their focus on Covid-19

Objects at close to human bodytemperature only emit a very small amount of radiated heat,which is difficult to detect in the camera sensor. Thismeans it is not easy to make an accurate thermal camera thatis insensitive to external conditions.

Comparingthe temperature of a surface to our reference at knowntemperature is less difficult. This could allow a widervariety of thermal imaging cameras to be used, which wouldbe useful in case of shortage.

The internalcorrection routines of some cameras can also causeinconsistent readings, which our method could helpcontinuously calibrateout.

Scoop Media

Visit link:
UC Engineers Aid Development Of Thermal Imaging Cameras To Spot COVID-19 Symptoms - Scoop.co.nz