While other regions are getting used to the new normal: face masks, hand sanitizers, temperature checks, Alabama is getting used to the presence of drones.
The Alabama State Senate recently adopted the Draganfly Smart Vital System, a screening system that can identify potential COVID-19 cases by taking contactless temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate readings. Those who are at risk will be tested, thereby reducing the spread of the virus in government buildings.
‘As the current pandemic continues, we are committed to providing a safe place for our staff and visitors to ensure there is no interruption in the work that needs to be done for the citizens of Alabama’, says Pat Harris, Secretary of the Alabama State Senate. ‘We are confident that the implementation of Draganfly’s Vital Intelligence Technology will help to ensure an important layer to existing protocols that assist us in identifying and mitigating the risk of the spread of COVID-19’.
One of the first people to employ the screening system was Alabama State University in September. While also having fixed stations that students and other people on campus could use, the university used its drone technology to disinfect surfaces in its stadiums and arenas with a virus sanitizer made by Varigard.
‘We originally developed the technology to work on drones, but where we’ve really seen traction is in fixed space cameras and even on cell phones for telemedicine’, Cameron Chell, Draganfly CEO said in an interview with FOX Business at the time.
Although similar technology has brought up questions about privacy, according to the company, the system doesn’t collect personal information.
‘There’s no personalized data involved at all. It doesn’t do any facial recognition’, Chell assured.
The technology was originally developed to help in the identification of survivors in disaster relief and keep tabs on the health of wildlife in crisis areas, but found its calling in a different area of application.
By Marvellous Iwendi.
Source: The Hill