T-Mobile Network Powers Systems for Covid-19 Protection
T-Mobile US has announced that its 4G/LTE network is helping businesses keep customers and employees safe during the coronavirus pandemic. The operator was selected to power services from PIMMAP (produced by U.S. technology developer PIM) to check for flu-like symptoms and Guardhat (another U.S. developer) to monitor physical distancing while in public places.
The PIMMAP contactless temperature system is an eight-inch HD tablet that checks for flu-like symptoms, such as elevated body temperature, in those entering crowded or confined spaces. People stand in front of the screen for one second to register a result. The PIMMAP system is available directly from T-Mobile for Business.
For Guardhat, T-Mobile will connect industrial safety technology that provides real-time situational awareness and alerts workers when someone moves within six feet of their location. The IoT system gives a complete field of vision in on-location industrial job sites, helping keep people safe in potentially dangerous situations.
Tarifica’s Take
As mobile operators strive to adjust to the new realities created by the coronavirus pandemic, IoT represents a very legitimate set of opportunities, as demonstrated by this pair of offerings from U.S.-based technology developers and powered by T-Mobile’s 4G/LTE network.
PIMMAP uses wireless thermo scanning, a thermal infrared camera and a facial recognition system, all packed into a small tablet-like device that can be mounted on a desk, pedestal or wall, to take temperatures instantly and accurately without any waste such as plastic thermometer covers. The mobile connectivity allows the entity operating the facility to be aware of potentially infected people at all entry points simultaneously in real time, track activity and remotely troubleshoot technical issues. The network connectivity also permits for the data collected to be securely transferred to cloud servers for storage, if desired.
Guardhat is a system originally intended for safety on construction sites, operating from sensors mounted in hardhats that enable warnings so that workers will not get too near dangerous locations within a site. It is now adapted so that it senses when people get closer than six feet from each other and warns them, enabling them to maintain the standard distance deemed appropriate for the prevention of virus transmission. The high-speed network connectivity is essential to the functionality of the system.
While Guardhat is marketed and sold directly by its developers, PIMMAP is being made available to business customers of the operator via T-Mobile for Business.
We believe that these offerings are clever uses of IoT to deal with certain aspects, albeit limited ones, of public interaction during the pandemic. Therefore, they are excellent ways for the operator to increase its relevance, both in society and in the IoT ecosystem at this unusual and in some ways pivotal time.