SHARE
Facebook X Pinterest WhatsApp

Thermal Scanning Robot Could Be Deployed In Hospitals

thumbnail
Thermal Scanning Robot Could Be Deployed In Hospitals

The robot could reduce the time spent sitting in a hospital’s reception, which is a key goal of many hospitals during the pandemic.

Written By
thumbnail
David Curry
David Curry
May 14, 2020

Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden, in collaboration with Umeå’s university hospital, have trialed a thermal scanning robot that can spot people with high temperatures.

The robot uses an infrared camera, which has been deployed in airports and train stations in Asia to tackle COVID-19 spread, to identify people with a fever. It is also able to ask questions and provide a preliminary report to staff.

See Also: Self-Deprecating Robots are Better Conversationalists

This could reduce the time spent sitting in a hospital’s reception, a key goal of many hospitals during the coronavirus pandemic. The robot, according to the research team, may also be able to inform people of infection risks and warn people if they are sitting too close together.

“We have previously used infrared cameras in our research on driverless forest vehicles, as a way of detecting people and avoiding collisions. Now we combine that research with our work with AI robots that talk to humans,” says Thomas Hellström, professor of computing science at Umeå University.

The project is named RETHRO (Remote Thermal Robot), it uses the Pepper manufactured by SoftBank. The team plans to deploy it at Umeå’s university hospital, if the trial is a success.

thumbnail
David Curry

David is a technology writer with several years experience covering all aspects of IoT, from technology to networks to security.

Recommended for you...

How Far Are We Away From Self-Driving? Depends On Scope
David Curry
Jul 12, 2023
Facebook Parent Meta Trains AI Robot On Human Interactions
David Curry
May 4, 2023
Industrial Robotics Driven by Increased Job Site Risk
Robots Aiding Digital Transformation in Textiles

Featured Resources from Cloud Data Insights

The Difficult Reality of Implementing Zero Trust Networking
Misbah Rehman
Jan 6, 2026
Cloud Evolution 2026: Strategic Imperatives for Chief Data Officers
Why Network Services Need Automation
The Shared Responsibility Model and Its Impact on Your Security Posture
RT Insights Logo

Analysis and market insights on real-time analytics including Big Data, the IoT, and cognitive computing. Business use cases and technologies are discussed.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2026 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.