Monitors for remote health checks/social distancing devised by University of South Australia researchers
University of South Australia researchers developed technology to remotely monitor vital health signs (inset) and to monitor social distancing.
Technology developed by the University of South Australia to remotely measure vital signs was being used at universities and workplaces in the United States of America to help detect COVID-19 cases. The technology used algorithms and artificial intelligence to measures heart rate, breathing rate, temperature, movement and blood oxygen saturation.
The University of South Australia research began in 2017 and previously looked at using the technology to monitor and react to elderly falls, look for signs of life in war zones or following a natural disaster and monitoring the heart rates of babies in neonatal incubators.
It was first developed by the university to be used on drones and was licensed to Canadian tech company Draganfly in 2020. But the drones trial in Westport, Connecticut, was dumped over the potential invasion of privacy.
Draganfly adapted the technology into monitoring kiosks for universities and workplaces across United States. The monitoring stations, including a thermal camera for temperature readings, were first introduced at Alabama State University that had five kiosks on campus.
University of South Australia lead researcher professor Javaan Chahl the monitors weren’t guaranteed to diagnose a person for COVID-19 “but it certainly tells you who to look at again. If their heart rate is elevated or their breathing rate is up or their blood oxygen saturation is depressed, we refer them to secondary screening for those marginal cases”.
Chahl said the machines was more accurate than a forehead thermometer: “It’s more expensive but it’s faster and you don’t necessarily need to have a person there or you can have one person monitoring multiple machines.”
The University of South Australia researchers also developed software to monitor social distancing to help people in public areas such as university cafeterias stay apart. The social distancing cameras highlighted people walking through targeted areas in red or green to raise awareness about maintaining adequate personal space. It reduced social distancing violations by about 50%.
Chahl said while the university’s collaboration with Draganfly was ongoing, his team of researchers had begun to move into areas such as measuring the vital signs of animals for agricultural, ecological and zoological applications.
