The National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (Nectec) has introduced a new affordable multi-person smart thermometer system that combines Internet of Things (IoT) technology with data storage.
The goal is to enhance capacity in screening people entering facilities.
The development of the system, called μTherm-FaceSense, comes at a time when businesses are re-opening from lockdown and many want to check people's temperature before they enter the premises as part of the efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
The system can also detect people's faces while wearing masks for temperature checks.
Nectec director Chai Wutiwiwatchai said μTherm-FaceSense was developed from intellectual property held by its researchers since 2007.
This system links collected data to an IoT computing system, and enables accurate temperature measurements of several persons simultaneously.
It has a screening range of 0.5-1.5 metres with a screening time of no more than 0.1 seconds.
The system can scan nine people at the same time.
The measured temperature will be displayed over a person's face on the screen. If the temperature exceeds the pre-specified threshold, the colour displayed will change from green to red with a warning sound.
The system can be used instead of infrared thermometers, which cannot detect several people simultaneously or perform wide-range scans.
The thermal imaging cameras used at airports or department stores are more costly. A similar imported device costs 200,000 baht, but locally made cuts the cost by half, said Mr Chai.
He said the system has been developed for three years under a 14-million-baht project funded by the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for Public Interest.
The 40 units of the system will be located at various places, including Thammasat University Hospital, Red Cross facilities and Airport Rail Link.
Mr Chai said Nectec is open for commercial use of the equipment.
"With the use of locally made or researched medical tech products, the country can save on costs," he said.
"In order for healthtech to grow, we need to have data stored in the country."
In the future, the technology can be applied to check temperatures of animals or crops, said Mr Chai.
Armote Somboonkaew, the system's project leader, said it is a plug-and-play system that can be connected with external displays via HDMI cables.