An Inside Look at Campus Safety- Thermal Camera Systems

When it comes to COVID-19 safety and preventative measures, making sure everyone on campus is fever-free is important. With an enrollment of 1,193 students and over 250 faculty and staff members, Wesleyan’s leadership wondered if it was even possible to check temperatures of everyone on campus without compromising social distancing. The solution? The Kogniz AI Health Response Platform. These are real-time fever monitoring thermal camera systems.
“We knew we needed a way to check – preferably throughout the day – for elevated temperatures since fever is one of the primary symptoms of COVID-19 and many other contagious illnesses,” said Brian Morgan, Wesleyan’s chief operating officer. “But handheld infrared temperature scanners for that many people were not a scalable solution. The thermal cameras we implemented have been a quick, effective way to monitor students, employees, and visitors as they enter buildings throughout the day.”

 The technology team placed thirteen thermal cameras at the main entrances to each main building on campus. The devices measure the body temperature of everyone who walks passed the scanner. If someone enters the building with a temperature higher than the threshold set by the school, alerts are sent to the health services team and other administrators. 

“Our community has been diligent in staying home when not feeling well,” said Morgan. “The scanners are just one more layer of added diligence in trying to keep everyone healthy.”

Everyone is still expected to take their temperature at home before coming to campus each day. Between checking temperatures at home and throughout the day at school, Wesleyan is hopeful this is another strategy that will keep our students and employees on campus for as long as possible during the pandemic.
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