Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, will
partner with Australian company Elenium Automation to trial new technology
which allows self-service devices at airports to be used to help identify
travellers with medical conditions, potentially including the early stages of
COVID-19.
Etihad will be the first airline to trial the technology,
which can monitor the temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate of any
person using an airport touchpoint such as a check-in or information kiosk, a
bag drop facility, a security point or immigration gate.
The Elenium system will automatically suspend the self-service
check-in or bag drop process if a passengers vital signs indicate potential
symptoms of illness. It will then divert to a teleconference or alert qualified
staff on site, who can make further assessments and manage travellers as
appropriate.
In partnership with Amazon Web Services, Elenium has also
developed hands free technologies that enable touchless use of self-service
devices through voice recognition, further minimising the potential of any
viral or bacterial transmission.
Etihad will initially trial the monitoring technology at its
hub airport in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, at the end of April and
throughout May 2020, initially with a range of volunteers, and, as flights
resume, outbound passengers.
Jorg Oppermann, Vice President Hub and Midfield Operations,
Etihad Airways, said: "This technology is not designed or intended to diagnose
medical conditions. It is an early warning indicator which will help to
identify people with general symptoms, so that they can be further assessed by
medical experts, potentially preventing the spread of some conditions to others
preparing to board flights to multiple destinations.
"It has long been the case that aircraft, with their highly
sophisticated air-recycling systems and standards of hygiene are not the
transmission vehicle for illnesses. We are testing this technology because
we believe it will not only help in the current COVID-19 outbreak, but also
into the future, with assessing a passengers suitability to travel and thus
minimising disruptions. At Etihad we see this is another step towards ensuring
that future viral outbreaks do not have the same devastating effect on the
global aviation industry as is currently the case."
Aaron Hornlimann, CEO and Co-Founder of Elenium Automation,
said: "We believe this approach is a world first. Elenium has lodged patents
for both the automatic detection of illness symptoms at an aviation
self-service touchpoint, and touchless self-service technology at an airport.
Combined, this would ensure health screenings can become standard across
airports, without putting staff in harm with manual processes.
"The system would screen every individual, including
multiple people on the same booking. The technology can also be retrofitted
into any airport kiosk or bag drop or installed as a desktop system at a
passenger processing point such as an immigration desk. We believe the
introduction of touchless self-service and automated health screening will
encourage passengers to return to travel sooner."
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