General Motors is looking to enhance workplace safety during the pandemic with new technology it developed.
“We developed an extensive playbook for a safe return to work for our employees, and we’re seeing very good success,” said Dr. Jeffery Hess, GM medical director. “As we implemented the protocols, GM software developers started to work on how technology could make the process smoother and more precise.”
The new technologies are: an automated kiosk for temperature scanning, software for contact tracing, and a mobile app for touchless printing.
The technology was developed to enhance GM’s workplace protocols, although the tools have been made available to the public so it can be used in any workplace, school, or facility, according to the automaker’s news release.
“Our teams collaborated online with experts around the world to quickly innovate and support the safe return of our employees to the workplace,” said Randy Mott, GM Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. “We know many of these challenges affect others globally.”
The thermal scanning kiosk leverages open-source code from the OpenCV project, allowing the system to automatically identify when a person is in front of the camera before checking their temperature. The process is said to take 1-2 seconds and the scanning works even when the person is wearing a mask or face covering.
Right now the kiosks have been placed in GM’s U.S. offices and plants, but there are plans to expand to other global locations.
For workplace contact tracing, improvements were made to Covid Watch, which is an open-source contact tracing application. The OEM added real-time social distance alerts and support for Bluetooth beacons. GM plans to release the opens-source software soon.
Finally, its Touchless Print mobile app enables exactly what its name suggests — providing the ability to print documents without touching the printer control panel. It is exclusive to HP printers, and is being used at GM facilities worldwide. The open-source software was released in August.
