When cities, states, and countries begin to re-open their respective economies, screening employees and customers for signs of COVID-19 will be critical. Many locations currently use non-contact digital thermometers that are held within a few inches of the forehead of each person who wishes to enter a protected space, The current method takes two to three seconds, which is fine when you enter a doctor’s office, for example, but too time-consuming for mass entry. One-to-one readings aren’t practical at a factory, for example, when hundreds or even thousands of workers arrive within a short time period to begin a shift.

Rokid, a China-based company with an office in San Carlos, California, introduced Rokid Glass 2 as a potential solution for measuring body temperatures rapidly and accurately. Rokid Glass is an augmented reality (AR) device with hands-free voice control and a high-resolution display. The glasses resemble ordinary sunglasses with a camera mounted on one side. The device was originally designed to work with a variety of sensors with extensions for multiple smartphones and other mobile devices. Now, however, the company focuses on a specific application: thermal imaging for reading body temperature.

According to information Rokid sent to Health Tech Insider on request, the latest version of Rokid Glass incorporates an infrared temperature monitor suitable for mass scanning. The monitoring devices employ a Qualcomm processor and a 12-megapixel camera to record both single images and videos. The company claims Rokid Glass can detect body temperature accurately from a distance of two meters in one-half second within a narrow margin of error (+/- 0.5 degrees Centigrade outside and +/- 0.3-degrees C. inside). If a temperature scan exceeds a pre-set threshold, the wearable sends an immediate alert to medical and security personnel. Rokid believes a single person wearing Rokid Glass can scan body temperatures of up to 200 people in two minutes. The wearer can switch between full-screen infrared imaging to a reduced-size, gray-scale window that displays the temperature scan reading within a regular full display.

Rokid is taking orders now for the Rokid Glass thermal imaging device. While the company originally built the platform with a variety of applications in mind, in this case, the right product may have appeared just when needed.