As American people and businesses continue to struggle against the COVID virus, they have become familiar with wearing masks, social distancing and contact tracing. Can video analytics help reopening businesses to prevent the spread of COVID?
Four Ways Video Analytics Can Help Your Business
Video analytics and big data are helping businesses do what was impossible before. Multiple cameras in multiple locations are collecting immense amounts of information. Through video analytics, this information can be sorted and important information extracted from the unimportant.
First, facial recognition can detect who is wearing a proper mask and who is not.
This information can be sent to security in the form of an alert or in a text to the person’s cell phone if they are an employee. Mask problem solved.
Second, video analytics help reopening businesses to prevent the spread of COVID by enforcing social distancing measures.
Some contact between employees and other workers is inevitable. However, when the group congregates too long in one place, security can be alerted, or cell phone messages sent. Social distancing solved.
Third, contact tracing can be initiated when a positive test result has been reported.
Again, the video analytics is useful as the video is used to trace backward to see who the infected employee has contacted. Then those who have been in touch with the infected person can be tested. Contact tracing fixed.
Fourth, an increasing number of people have been vaccinated.
Some of the vaccines have been shown to be 95 percent effective and thus can reasonably be allowed to work without masks and revert to the pre-COVID social norms. Hugging allowed again?
Video analytics were effectively used during the 2019 playoffs for the National Basketball Association. The players, coaches, media personnel and support staff were quarantined in a bubble at Disney World in Orlando, FL. People who did not do mask wearing or social distancing were alerted. No COVID cases were reported, no games were canceled and the NBA was able to earn a few million dollars in TV revenues. Although these draconian measures were successful, few would advocate this for business in general.
Once people identify themselves as vaccinated, and showing verification, the video analytics can once again be used to help reopen businesses and prevent the spread of COVID. Facial recognition software can identify those who have been vaccinated and allow them to return to normal activities while others cannot.
Want to Learn More About Video Analytics? Contact Us!
If you need help in using analytics to promote a safe workplace environment, contact Smartshield Solutions at (866) 891-9183 or email us at info@smartshield.solutions. The trained personnel there can demonstrate how video analytics help reopening businesses to prevent the spread of COVID.