Automatic Non-Contact Fever Detector to Prevent COVID-19 Spread in Public Places

Abstract

The COVID-19 virus has spread around the world and over 22 million people were diagnosed with the virus. Fevers are one of the top three symptoms of coronavirus, the others being coughs and shortness of breath. A critical component to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to quickly detect fevers in public places, including hospitals, doctor offices, elder care centers, schools, gyms, movie theaters, restaurants, etc. Today, thermometers can be used in these places, but they require manual operation by dedicated health workers. To make temperature measurement an automatic process, an automatic non-contact fever detector is developed. The fever detector consists of several components: a clinically tested and precisely calibrated thermometer to guarantee accuracy and reliability, a motion sensor to detect the readiness of temperature taking, a relay-based trigger circuit to replace the manual trigger of the thermometer, and a DC-to-DC regulator to replace batteries in the thermometer. LCD signals and the buzz signal from the thermometer, are used to determine the measurement results. Lighting and sound signals are used as indication of normal temperature or fever. All the functions of the detector are controlled by a microcontroller. The detector has been thoroughly tested for continuous operation. Once widely used, the detector will help to detect fevers in public places and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. .