China uses smart glasses to detect people with coronavirus

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A Chinese startup has developed a pair of smart glasses capable of taking the temperature of people a meter away.

If France has been in complete containment for almost two weeks, China is gradually emerging from a similar situation put in place in many regions from the end of January. A few days ago, the country even recorded a total of zero new cases of coronavirus in the territory. Even if that means that the country will have to manage returns, among other things, the challenge is no longer the same and the situation is slowly moving towards improvement.

When China uses technology to fight coronavirus
In this always particular context, a Chinese startup called Rokid has developed a pair of connected glasses with a very specific objective. In fact, the device is capable of taking the temperature of passers-by at a distance of one meter, all based on “non-contact augmented thermal reality”. With this tool, the country hopes to detect other cases of coronavirus, if however there are still any, while respecting the security measures which fixes the distance between people at a minimum of one meter.

The startup’s connected glasses are currently used in Xixi Hongyuan, a wetland area located on the outskirts of Hangzhou not far from Shanghai. All persons wishing to enter the area in question must pass by guards who wear the thermal device for taking the temperature.

Other areas of the country are also benefiting from similar measures, including the traffic police in Hangzhou since January. Similar tools are also already used in hospitals or airports so that everyone there can be tested.

Obviously, such a pair of glasses and its technology are not 100% reliable, but this can make it possible to detect certain cases while showing populations that the Chinese authorities have the situation under control.

The use of such a technology in the context of the fight against the coronavirus in China is reminiscent of the installation of a facial recognition device which allows the identification of the inhabitants even when wearing the mask. Not sure that the latter would be put aside after the pandemic ended, knowing that many protesters in Hong Kong used to wear a mask to remain anonymous.