Juan is a computer engineer and has worked at Nedap in Spain since 2016. He’s responsible for resolving technical questions and also developing Nedap’s business in Spain. Juan has entertained himself with technology since he was a young boy and, even when he’s not working with technology, he’s tinkering with it. Juan also loves sport – he used to play in a professional under-21s basketball team and likes biking and watersports. And, when travel is allowed, he enjoys visiting places where nature takes the lead.
Authorisations based on body temperature
The next big thing for access control
At the beginning of May, we began offering a way for AEOS to use body temperature to help determine whether someone’s authorised for access. It’s an innovation developed in direct response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and which we hope will help people to stay safe as lockdown measures are relaxed.
Taking all privacy regulations into account, I believe body temperature will become a key element in access control. The ability to collate and monitor body temperatures and have the data instantly available, as it is in AEOS, will be crucial.
Speedy response to market feedback
In April, our technology partner SGSE approached us about the idea of incorporating body temperature checks into access control. They’d had positive feedback from market and customer research, so we started collaborating on the concept.
The beauty of AEOS, of course, is its open architecture. This has enabled us to develop an integration that’s ready for end customers to use in two weeks – and all based on existing AEOS infrastructure.
Simple to set up and use
How it works is very simple. First, you set in AEOS the maximum body temperature allowed for people gaining access – this is easy to apply and adjust. Heat sensors are then used on the wrist or forehead of anyone wanting to gain access to measure their body temperature. This measurement is sent to the controllers in AEOS, which makes the decision whether or not to grant access.
Cameras are another option for detecting body temperature instead of heat sensors, but they’re not as straightforward to use. They need to be integrated with your access control system before you use them, and also need continuous calibration to measure body temperature.
A heat sensor is more accurate, easier to manage and costs less than a camera. The sensor that SGSE supplies can be used with AEOS without any integration work. And other third-party heat sensors that communicate temperature recordings in the same way (which many do) can also be used with AEOS.
Helps to identify infection
The ability to apply restrictions based on body temperature is particularly relevant now, as a fever is a key indicator that someone has COVID-19 – or indeed another illness. By routinely checking the body temperature of everyone entering a building or site, it will help to identify anyone who may be infected (and possibly isn’t even aware). Which will help to protect those inside by not allowing potentially infected people to enter.
Valuable data for tracking trends
Once a temperature is recorded in AEOS, you can use it as a condition – like any other default data or access badge credential. It applies to the whole system, rather than being door dependent, and can be used for both verification and validation. This means you can also use temperature to trigger different security levels in AEOS. If a temperature is outside the valid range, it can generate a specific response that you’ve pre-set.
Temperatures for individuals can also be tracked and included in AEOS’s automated reporting (with data anonymised if you choose). And trends for your organisation at large can be monitored. If the average temperature across all employees is increasing, this could indicate an outbreak of COVID-19 or another infection.
Show you are an organisation that cares
This type of monitoring can help to further increase the value you get from access control. It can, for example, help to prevent large numbers of employees falling ill and your productivity plummeting. As security protocols are changing in response to COVID-19, it can help to automate processes so there’s less inconvenience and less time lost in queues.
On a brand level, it also makes it clear to employees and visitors that you’re an organisation that cares about their health and are taking extra measures to protect it.
Here to stay?
As it looks likely that we’ll continue to face outbreaks of COVID-19 or similar infections, I believe body temperature will become a key element in access control. And the ability to collate and monitor body temperatures and have the data instantly available – as it is in AEOS – will be crucial.
It’s not failsafe because with infections such as COVID-19 people are most contagious before they get a fever. But it does provide a strong preventative measure to help keep people safe.
What’s next for access control?
With any issue such as how to incorporate new metrics into access control, the biggest challenge is always how to solve the problem fast enough. It’s not necessarily the technicalities that cause difficulties, but how to quickly implement a brilliant technological solution that fully meets users’ needs and provides great value.
The use of body temperature detection is just one example of how the world of access control is becoming ever-more advanced. Other innovations that offer great potential include:
- A widening variety of integrations made possible with modern protocols and open systems like AEOS.
- Increased use of access control data for managing building, sites and security – and faster data transfer speeds to support this.
- Transparent readers and high-security card encryption.
- End-to-end security of access control systems to protect against cybercrime.
Ensuring security for life
Wherever our innovations take us at Nedap, we’ll remain true to our focus of providing security for life. So people can focus 100% on their work and daily life, without worrying or being distracted by security.
Want to know more about using heat sensors in access control? Or talk about the specifics of your access control challenges? I’d love to hear from you at juan.herrera@nedap.com
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