The personnel of Naval Dockyard, Mumbai have designed and developed a handheld IR-based temperature sensor that can be manufactured under Rs. 1,000 to undertake screening of a large number of people for COVID-19 infection.
Designed through in-house resources, the temperature sensor comes with accuracy of 0.02 degree Celsius. It has an infrared sensor and an LED display integrated with a microcontroller which runs on a 9V battery.
The inspiration to innovate this crucial instrument came after non-contact thermometers or temperature guns became scarce in the market or were being sold at a very high cost after the outbreak witnessed massive surge in the number of infected patients across various countries.
The 285-year-old naval dockyard of Western Naval Command (WNC) has an average influx of around 20,000 personnel entering its premises every day. In view of COVID-19, initial screening of these personnel entering the dockyard was essential to prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the yard and the Western Fleet. The most preliminary method to screen a probable patient is to check for body temperature by a non-contact means.
This initiative has provided a powerful tool for undertaking screening of a large number of personnel at the entry gates of the yard, thereby, reducing the load on the security sentries at the gate.
The dockyard has the capability to scale up production of these if required towards which sourcing of the components is in progress.
Also Read: JNCASR develops antimicrobial coat against COVID-19 to prevent transmission