African Authorities Deploy Smart Helmet To Fight Spread Of COVID-19

With over 720,000 confirmed cases across Africa, COVID-19 has already claimed almost 16,000 lives. In their efforts to reduce the devastating impact of the disease, several national authorities have partnered with leading technology and innovation company KC Wearable to use company’s KC N901 Smart Helmet.

The helmet can detect fevers, the most prevalent COVID-19 symptom, with 96 per cent accuracy. South Africa was the first African country to use the helmet following a surge in cases last month, and it is already being used in airports and logistics hubs across Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg. Authorities in Algeria, Egypt and Gabon, are now also using the smart helmet, as they look to protect their populations better and avoid further escalation of the pandemic.

“Our mission has always been to do everything possible to reduce the spread of this life-threatening disease, as well as the devastating impact that it is having on societies across the globe. We have already partnered with countries in Europe, Asia and South America and seen positive results. We have also been working in South Africa, which has experienced great difficulty in controlling the rapid proliferation of COVID-19 since March.” Dr Jie Guo, global head of KC Wearable, said.

“It is already being used in airports and logistics hubs across Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg. Authorities in Algeria, Egypt and Gabon are now also using the smart helmet, as they look to better protect their populations and avoid further escalation of the pandemic.”

He continues, “Working with authorities in South Africa, we aimed to bring some relief to the country’s citizens by complementing the government’s preventative measures. We want to help other African countries, too, as the infection rate continues to grow across the continent. With a high fever being a common COVID-19 symptom, the KC N901 Smart Helmet is a quick, efficient and accurate way of identifying potential cases.”

Beyond Africa, the helmet is already being used in over 35 countries, including Indonesia, the UAE, Italy, Netherlands, Kuwait, Chile, and Turkey. KC Wearable has partnered with national authorities and major transport hubs such as airports, as well as schools and hospitals, to detect COVID-19 symptoms in a range of settings.

Bradford Wood, Detection Handler at K9 Law Enforcement, a security company contracted by the South African authorities, said “We are excited about what the KC N901 Smart Helmet has to offer as an additional temperature screening and security device in South Africa’s continued efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 amongst citizens. Working with the country’s main airports, including in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, the helmet has proved vital in helping us detect and subsequently prevent outbreaks from domestic and international flights. The advanced technology and mass screening functionality of the helmets are crucial as the South African economy strives to return to normality.”

With the ability to screen the temperatures of up to 200 people a minute, the helmet offers a quick and accurate alternative to traditional thermal cameras. The wearable headset improves the efficiency and flexibility of COVID-19 screening.

“South Africa is known for the informal settlement lifestyle and close proximity living in townships, where the risk of infection is extremely high. Which makes the KC N901 Smart Helmet particularly important to South Africa because of the ability to do rapid mass screening both indoors and outdoors,” Jeremy Capouya, Founder and CEO, Granule Holdings, opined.

“With the ability to screen the temperatures of up to 200 people a minute, the helmet offers a quick and accurate alternative to traditional thermal cameras. The wearable headset improves the efficiency and flexibility of COVID-19 screening.”

He adds, “Further, most of the workforce in South Africa rely heavily on public transportation where taxi ranks naturally have mass gatherings. With the urgent need to resume economic activity, we need to ensure that there are measures in place to help identify and stop the spread of COVID-19.”

Powered by sophisticated facial recognition technology and an infrared camera, the helmet visor’s thermo-scan sensors show the temperature of people within a seven-metre radius and has the potential to link up to other data on COVID-19 tracking apps. The device stores all data itself with a 64GB internal memory.

To find out more about the KC N901 Smart Helmet, visit their website.