Hills” the mother of invention in the Covid-19 era

“Hills” the mother of invention in the Covid-19 era

Necessity is the mother of invention and the COVID-19 Pandemic has created some new necessities that no one would have imagined less than a year ago. In the current world, we need ways of detecting carriers of a virus and ways to enforce social distancing which includes better ways to work remotely.

True to the adage, companies have been inventing some extremely innovative products in an attempt to get the world back up and

running. Hills prides itself on providing lifechanging innovations so when virus detection and social distancing enforcement products were engineered, Hills resolved to source and supply the best products that will help us return to normalcy. Chinese manufacturer, Dahua produced a quick solution which Hills sourced as soon as it was available. Once they had a solution they could supply, Hills went further and sourced some of the most advanced solutions which are now available through HillsTrak.

Human Body Temperature Measurement (HBTM) Dahua have the distinction of having their Human body temperature measurement (HBTM) solution forged in the fire of the initial breakout of Covid-19 in China. With lightning speed, Dahua produced a solution that leveraged their existing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. Dahua’s cameras could scan crowds and, using Dahua’s impressive AI integration, was able to identify likely carriers so they could undergo further testing.

The solution helped China get its outbreak under control and was then utilised in other countries such as Thailand where it achieved incredible results.

Dahua’s solution offers measurements accurate to 0.3o Celsius at 3 metres. It includes a smart alarm and, can automatically take and save snapshots of people with abnormal readings. Recently Dahua also released a more cost-effective solution which is just as effective as the original offering but has a shorter range of 2 metres.

HillsTrak used German manufacturer Mobotix as the basis for its solution. The Mobotix solution

is everything you would expect from German engineering. Its cameras are of the highest quality with the HBTM camera being able to detect variations as little as 0.1 o C. The solution is housed in a dual camera casing with interchangeable lenses. This design allows for side by side imaging which can be customised to suit your requirements. Choose a thermal and a standard HD camera for easy identification of subjects or two thermal cameras to simultaneously view two zones; ideally a wide view to scan the crowd then a close view to confirm single subjects.

Retail Spacing Solutions HBTM is only part of the solution and both Dahua and HillsTrak were ahead of the curve with their retail spacing technology.

Once the initial spread of infection has been controlled, the goal of all countries must be to open the economy in a sensible way that doesn’t immediately act as a catalyst for a second wave. Retail spacing solutions do precisely that by ensuring a site does not have more people inside than is safe under social distancing regulations.

The Dahua solution uses a multi-sensor approach to scan an environment and essentially do a

head count. You just set the number of people that should be allowed in the site and then forget about it. Once the limit is hit, an alarm sounds, and you can set staff into action. It’s much more cost effective than having staff try to manually calculate numbers of people constantly entering and leaving.

HillsTrak has again sourced a top of the range solution from Brickstream.

The Brickstream solution is highly sophisticated and includes advanced metrics such as service and queuing times as well as intelligent filtering of employees. Data on customer numbers and facility capacity can be made publicly available, enhancing the customer experience.

Both the Dahua and HillsTrak solutions are necessary for keeping your people safe and secure during this pandemic. The Dahua system has been battle tested and is great value. The HillsTrak solution has clearly been built with the intention of being an industry leader. It’s customisable, has a host of extras such as advanced analytics, and can be integrated with your existing CCTV systems.

In the end you know your business and Hills can help you analyse your requirements to ensure you get the solution that suits you.

Visit hills.co.nz today or contact our local team on 0800 1 HILLS (44557) to discuss how we can help you in the new Covid-19 era.