With the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies are diverting some of their resources to making medical equipment. Etihad Airways, a United Arab Emirates airline, is doing something similar in partnership with Australian firm Elenium Automation. But what the two companies intend to do is to enable self-service devices at airports to help identify travellers with medical conditions.
The idea is that airports will employ Elenium’s tech of temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate of travellers at information kiosks, chack-in and bag drop counters, as well as security checkpoints and immigration gates. If sensors detect any of the three to be irregular, then services for the traveller in question will be suspended. Qualified staff on site will be alerted to manage the travellers’ travel process.
That being said, the tech is not meant to be way to diagnose medical conditions. According to Jorg Oppermann, Vice President Hub and Midfield Operations, Etihad Airways, says the system merely acts as an early warning indicator. Medical personnel will still have to make the necessary assessments, so that the spread of communicable conditions can be prevented.
For now, Etihad Airways intends to test the tech at an airport in Abu Dhabi. Trials will start at the end of April and throughout May, with the help of volunteers. Whenever flying resumes, the tech will then be tested on outbound passengers.
(Source: Etihad Airways)
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