Can Drones Take Your Temperature?

The use of drones today is very widespread. They are used for monitoring, rescue missions, sports events, firefighting, aerial photography, and much more. But can drones measure human temperature, and how that process actually works? More and more countries are using drones to improve their lives, business and to help save lives. Drones also play a big role by helping us to fight coronavirus. Let’s see how drones can take your temperature.

So Can Drones Take Your Temperature? The drones are capable to measure body temperature by using thermal sensors and smart vision technology. The principle of how sensors work is that the temperature is based on the registration and analysis of the surface temperatures of objects. So after spotting the person, the thermal sensors on a drone read the temperature of it.

Drones have been used for medical purposes for some time where they help people. Many countries are using drones to better combat the spread of the coronavirus. Therefore, they are equipped with various sensors and algorithms that allow them to measure heart rate, detect social distancing, or to see the body temperature. Drones have a technological tool that could prove useful in these times of pandemic and can help save lives.

Draganfly is a Canadian drone company that has built a quadcopter with a thermal sensor and an advanced algorithm technology that allows it to take your temperature. The results so far have shown great accuracy in temperature measurement. Drones are increasingly used during the pandemic to measure temperature.

How Accurate Can Drone Measure Temperature?

The body temperature of a healthy person is approximately within the range of plus or minus 0.3 to 0.4 degrees, which is about 36.5 to 37.1 degrees. The drones that are equipped with thermal sensors to measure the temperature of citizens will help monitor the epidemiological situation. But how accurate are these measurements, and with what precision can drones measure them?

Under normal conditions, thermal cameras that are built-in in a drone can measure body temperature pretty accurate, with a tolerance of up to +/- 0.2°C (Celsius). But since normal conditions are rare, and during the flight, you encounter winds, outdoor temperature, and camera stabilization. So, precision is a very important thing, because only a 2°C difference can make a difference between a sick and a healthy person. Therefore, in most cases temperature measurement may not be effective. Nevertheless, during a pandemic, thermal sensors on drones are helping to spot potentially infected persons.

How Thermal Cameras Measure Body Temperature?

As we have already said, drones can measure a lot of things such as heart rate, social distancing, and body temperature. Did you know that infrared technology is not the new thing and it is used for a very long time by now? It is added on drones, and it can be used for various purposes such as finding lost people, for rescue missions, night surveillance, etc. But how this technology actually works?

Drones are equiped with thermal cameras and sensors. They can detect human temperature by capturing and processing different levels of infrared light. The human eye can’t see that light, but it contains heat if there is a lot of intensity. Every object consists of some form of infrared radiation. The software that the drone has installed during the temperature measurement process does not identify people, but only measures their temperature, which protects the identity of the individual.

Police is Using Drones To Take Your Temperature

Drones will become much more common in the sky than you think in the next few years. Since the coronavirus emerged, more and more surveillance drones are incorporating temperature measurement technology to detect who is infected. Therefore, currently, drones are mostly used to detect who is infected with the coronavirus and thus stop the spread of this dangerous virus.

In addition, drones use thermal cameras to measure the temperature of objects such as houses and buildings and see where the temperature leaks. This is very important to see, especially in winter when the difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures is large. Police also use drones with thermal cameras to make it easier to spot fugitives or lost people at night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmryPT7PXn4

Laws & Rules About Use Of Drones

Now that we have concluded that it is possible to measure body temperature using drones, the question arises what exactly are the laws around this? Although there are strict laws which prohibit drones from flying over populated areas, new measures were introduced during the pandemic. Drones are used today to measure and detect people who have a fever and alert them.

Under normal situations, the use of drones is limited and strictly controlled by the FAA. Italy, which has been particularly affected by the coronavirus is going further by equipping drones with thermal sensors in order to be able to measure the temperature of city residents. The drone makes it possible to cover tens of kilometers quickly and especially to access areas where access would be complicated. For such and similar reasons, drones are approved for use to fight covid-19.

"Pandemic drones" can detect social distancing, coughing, even your temp & heart rate!

Canadian company @DraganflyInc shared this clip & tells me they're talking with private companies to potentially bring this to the Seattle area.

Would you be OK w/ drones monitoring crowds? pic.twitter.com/22K8WR8vES

— Deedee Sun (@DeedeeKIRO7) May 22, 2020

Conclusion

Drones have been in use for quite some time, and their technology is advancing. Therefore, temperature measurement is something that drones can easily do, and with great accuracy in normal conditions. The corona virus that has conquered the world has forced people to unite and do their best to defeat this disease. This is why more and more drones are being used today to help to stop the spread of the virus by measuring the body temperature. I hope you enjoyed this article and learned something new.