In February 2020, the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted campuses worldwide to record the “campus footprint” by screening and monitoring body temperature at building entrances. With over 70,000 people entering and leaving the NTU campus daily, manual monitoring was time-consuming and posed an infection risk. In response, Dr. Jen-Sen Liu, a technical specialist at NTU Department of Electrical Engineering, collaborated with a team of students to develop "NTU Epidemic Prevention No. 1," This automatic device identified individuals by their ID card, measured body temperature, and wirelessly transmitted the data to the cloud access control system. When anomalies were detected, alerts were sent to the responsible units. Costing 90% less than thermal imaging, “NTU Epidemic Prevention No. 1” significantly reduced the expenses associated with pandemic prevention and campus management, showcasing the collaborative synergy among institutes, professors, and students.
To further support our community, NTU produced and donated 82 sets of “NTU Epidemic Prevention No. 1” to NTU-affiliated units and other public entities, including Taipei Public Library, public universities and high schools. The team also made the design of the device freely available online for public use. Several facilities, such as Taipei Children's Amusement Park and Hsinchu Motor Vehicle Office, have utilized the design to create their own devices.
The open-source software and hardware information of "NTU Epidemic Prevention No. 1" is freely available.
Extended news article:
The new forehead thermometer is fully automated, fast, accurate and economical.（Source: Taiwan News Formosa TV）
Generous donations from NTUEE alumni enabled the donation of 82 devices to the National Central Library, Taipei Public Library, and many other public facilities.
NTUEE technical specialist Dr. Jen-Sen Liu (center), transformed the traditional contact thermometer into a contact-free automatic solution. Dean of the College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Yao-Wen Chang (left) and NTUEE Chair Professor Chung-Chih Wu (right) vigorously promoted the device to other public facilities.
The talents behind the "NTU Epidemic Prevention No. 1" device were students from NTUEE, including (from left) Leo Liang-Yuan Wu, Andy Shih-Cheng Huang, Tzu-Cheng Hsu, Li-Wei Shih, Toby Po-Chih Chen, Ian Yi-Jen Shih, and Eddie Yun-Sheng Liu.
At NTU Preschool, pupils utilized the donated device for regular temperature checks.
