Mandated to reopen with safety measures in place yet lacking in manpower, retailers have turned to AI thermal screening solutions.
Singapore has just entered the initial phase of lockdown relaxation after nearly two months of Circuit Breaker measures. Some retail businesses that attract potential crowds are nervously resuming business, but with strict safety measures in place.
One such company is a moneychanger. With the aid of the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), they have acquired some new technology to screen customers and employees as part of safe management measures. Instead of the usual thermal scanners, Samlit Moneychanger Pte Ltd has acquired a contactless thermal screening solution that is powered by AI.
This thermal screening solution utilizes advanced computer vision technology to identify and detect over 10,000 points across a person’s forehead for the highest point of temperature in less than 0.5 seconds, with an accuracy of ±0.4 degrees Celsius. The system will trigger an alert in case of suspected fever or whenever it detects anyone not donning a mask.
Speeding up queue flow
Said Sameer Malik, General Manager of Samlit Moneychanger: “Money changers are known for long queues of customers. By adopting (this solution), we will be able to perform quick contactless temperature screening and avoid formation of queues or overcrowding without any compromises on the safe management system. We can ensure a smooth flow of business for our customers and significantly reduce the risk for our employees servicing money changing customers and other customers in our premises.”
The mini thermal scanning system from AI company SenseTime is expected to help alleviate the pressure on SME labour resources, and more importantly, to minimize the risk of infection for front-line staff. SenseTime is helping Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore to resume safe business operations. The solution has been deployed across varied industries from money changers to boutique hotels, where precision monitoring is required, and manpower is tight.
Mr. Martin Huang, Managing Director of SenseTime International Pte Ltd, said: “We have been working tirelessly with M1 and leveraging our expertise in AI technologies to safeguard the community and ensure that SMEs are well-prepared to resume operations safely. Our contactless thermal screening solution helps mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by shortening waiting times, reducing required manpower and frontline-staff infection risks when temperature screening is done manually. Leveraging our expertise in AI technologies, SenseTime will continue to safeguard the community and protect the workforce. We’re grateful for the opportunity to see (our) technology working at its best for society.”
Singapore telco M1 Limited sees SMEs as a crucial part of the local ecosystem and economy. Its Chief Corporate Sales and Solutions Officer Willis Sim said: “We are pleased to partner SenseTime for their innovative solution to help SMEs resume their operations in a safe and secure manner. The current COVID-19 situation has underscored the importance of digitalization to support and ensure business continuity. We see increasing enquiries for our bundled solutions for SMEs, which include hardware, IT support and a suite of productivity and collaboration software, which helps to address these areas… We are excited to see our efforts translate into solid outcomes to help them improve their operations.”
