All physical things either radiate or reflect heat, including human skin.
Elevated Skin Temperature (EST) is an indicator of potential health issues.
Where airborne pathogens are prevalent, social distancing protocols make
contact or close proximity solutions high risk. Thermal cameras operating
from a safe distance are well suited to these scenarios and can be easily
deployed.

But there are challenges associated with EST screening where thermal
cameras are used as thermometers, and these can undermine reliability
and have potentially serious consequences. The greatest risk is that
most thermal cameras read temperatures with insufficient accuracy,
with measurements influenced by environmental factors, measurement
procedures, and inherent sensor tolerances that can cause reading
deviations up to 5°C / 9°F. Non-medical grade thermal cameras should not
be used as thermometers.

SAFest is a mobile application that takes a different approach, developed
specifically for use with the Cat® S60/61 device range with integrated FLIR
thermal cameras.

Rather than taking absolute temperature readings, it relies on the camera’s
thermal sensitivity to highlight anomalies and temperature differences of
as little as 0.1°C, combined with thermal pattern recognition and analysis to
identify unusually elevated skin temperatures. It’s a solution ideally suited
to first-line-of-defence triage screening, with individuals showing EST able
to be isolated and, where appropriate, additional checks carried out.