Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, tech company OneScreen was developing smart devices such as whiteboards and attendance apps for schools. However, the company soon realized that there was a pressing need for screening technology. Just this June, the company supplied a school in Rio Rancho, New Mex., with its new product, GoSafe. These specially designed tablets are capable of screening students and staff for fevers, and can also detect when someone isn’t wearing a face mask.
The device scans the forehead of a student or staff member and checks for elevated temperatures. In addition to that, GoSafe also comes with sophisticated facial recognition technology. After U.S. school districts pushed to reopen, there was a pressing need for temperature-taking devices. While some school boards were initially apprehensive of the inclusion of facial recognition, many were quick to assert that these tablet-mounted cameras could scan students quicker with less staff intervention.
GoSafe is equipped with onboard AI that allows the device to scan an individual in less than one second. It also has live video assistance for real-time entry approval as students come and go inside the school building. In addition to that, the device offers access control integration for automatic doors, meaning it can allow or deny entry based on temperature, mask detection, facial recognition, or ID card, or via remote approval. A centralized management system also keeps track of an entire set of multiple scanners. It not only collects data but also takes note of attendance. It has a storage capacity of 30,000 facial images.
Settings for body temperature level, facial recognition, mask presence, and card reader are completely customizable. GoSafe can measure accurate temperatures from distances of between 1.6 inches and 3.2 inches.
OneScreen has already expressed that the device could be potentially used even post-COVID-19 for taking attendance and identifying intruders. The technology is currently being used at the University of San Diego, Sutter Union High School, as well as Jersey City’s municipal buildings.
In 2019, facial recognition technology in public district schools was tested primarily in response to gun violence and trespassers. These devices were usually considered as supplements or upgrades to existing monitoring systems present in school buildings. Civil liberties groups are still iffy toward facial recognition, calling its entry into the public school system through temperature screening technology a “Trojan horse.” School officials are defending its use saying that facial recognition can be beneficial. A device that can automatically recognize a face, measure a person’s temperature, and open or close a door based on results can keep things efficient and get hundreds of students into the buildings quicker.
According to Rio Rancho’s school district board, 71 GoSafe tablets cost approximately $161,000. These were purchased through the CARES Act, which was the pandemic relief bill that aimed to provide over $13.2 billion in aid for schools. Other districts have also begun purchasing similar devices as schools reopen throughout the country.
For more information about GoSafe, visit https://www.onescreensolutions.com/ca/product/gosafe.