A team from the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, has developed a temperature scanning device and corresponding software for detecting individuals with high temperatures in crowds and from a distance.

The thermal imaging technology can reportedly detect an individual with an elevated temperature — a common indicator of infection — from as far as 200 yards away.

The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division has developed a thermal imaging system. Source: TechLink

The device’s associated software runs on standard laptops and works in concert with a capture card and an infrared sensor.

Designed amid the coronavirus pandemic, the device works to reduce the number of interruptions that occur in healthcare facilities where temperatures are taken one at a time. Likewise, they enable healthcare staff to maintain social distancing between staff and potentially infected individuals.

Initially intended for Department of Defense (DoD) civilians and sailors, the device’s developers believe that the technology could be used on anyone and it is currently being tested in a hospital setting.