Earlier this month, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners approved the purchase of a $420,000 thermal imaging camera system that will be put in place in a half-dozen county buildings that are used heavily by the public.
The system is effective at displaying people’s precise temperature on a remote monitor, with no need for a county employee to have physical interaction with the person entering the building. While the reason behind the desire for the system is obvious with a pandemic going on, the $420,000 purchase has some people questioning if the expenditure was worth it – given that an effective COVID-19 vaccine could be available in a matter of months.
The system, which includes 21 cameras and smart “Artificial-Intelligence” software, will alert staff when someone is entering a building with an elevated temperature. In addition to the cost of the actual system, there will be other costs as well, such as training county employees – or hiring new ones and paying them to monitor the images and the data.
So, the question is this: Will the $420,000 thermal imaging system be good for anything once the pandemic is no more?
Guilford County Information Technology Director Hemant Desai, when asked that question, responded in an email.
“While various departments where we will be deploying these may have additional use cases,” he stated, “I believe that our overall strategy would involve using the investment we make in these Thermal vision system[s] for any future health related emergencies.”
He added that the system is “adaptable,” which “makes it possible for us to use them for future health related or as add on to our overall security infrastructure.”
The system would indeed be very useful in the future if there are more pandemics coming around after the coronavirus pandemic – specifically if there are pandemics of diseases where elevated temperatures are a sign of infection.
However, pandemics are very rare events in Guilford County.
Desai emphasized that “The system is very adaptive so we believe it will continue to provide value even in the future.”
Other county officials questioned offered no specific post-COVID-19 threat potential –aside from another pandemic – that the thermo-camera system will be good for. Though others pointed out that just the addition of 21 cameras enhances the county’s security system even if the thermal-imaging aspects are never employed after the COVID-19 crisis.
Definition of bureaucrat: “an official in a government department, in particular one perceived as being concerned with procedural correctness at the expense of people’s needs.” Someone (Mr. Desai?) within the county “found” this system (or better put was sold a bill of goods) that the commissions bought. …MAY have additional uses???
This expenditure is exactly the kind of waste that drives us taxpayers crazy. Don’t know how much the little hand-held thermometers cost, but surely a fraction of this amount. I doubt any of those responsible would spend their own money on the difference between this exotic system and a much cheaper, practical alternative. They’re fine with spending other people’s money. We need change …….
See also…
Boondoggle – “work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value.”
And what is your prescription Mr. Powers? You seem to have the moral authority on what constitutes waste of government funds. Did you realize that it takes a paycheck receiving human to hold those little devices you speak of? What if you have to pay 100 of those people to check temps across an entire county? What’s that add up to?
It’s not their money.
Ah-ha! “The system is adaptable”. It can add on to the “security infrastructure”. What that really means that this machine can map your face and/or your eyes. You would instantly be placed anywhere in the world that has surveillance camera. Add your cell phone tracking, and electronic transactions; and there will be NOWHERE TO HIDE. Like that one? You’ll need to turn off your cell phone, pay cash for everything, and cover your face.
Big Brother is here, and has been here seen the advent of cell phones & computers. All this info is now being used to market products, services, ideas, political messages, etc. directly to you. Can you say Alexa? Whenever BB needs to, he will use the same info to control you.
Younger people have been brainwashed by the Academia, and Television. To them, all this stuff is “normal”.
What’s else do the cameras do? What other information does the system collect?
Sounds like a smart purchase. considering it’s summer, everybody is coming in from outside, and will have an elevated temperature. Maybe they did it to up employment?
Or maybe the media should stop reporting on confirmed cases and more on death rate/ the numbers. Their the real ones hurting the country right now.
But, if it was given to roy for his parking deck youd never say one word.
Before you write or comment on an article you should at least make an effort to know the facts. Perhaps you’ve heard of PPP and the CARES act? Every municipality in the country is receiving COVID-19/ Pandemic related funds to assist with re-opening and ongoing mitigation for matters of public health and safety. You make it sound like Guilford County simply went into the pockets of county tax payers and bought some widget. Did you happen to look at how many other counties in the state have deployed, or are looking into the exact same technology? Do you realize how much money we save when we don’t have to have human beings checking temperatures in highly populated areas? It won’t take a very high-powered calculator to do some simple math.
$420,000 for cameras that take your temperature? The hand held ones that you see being used on TV can be bought for $49.29 on Amazon . I wonder how much this council spent on the mural in the middle of S.Elm St that dignifies a group of people that want to hurt and destroy others. That want to attack and kill our police. I wonder how many laptops they could have bought for our children who need them since they won’t open schools ? Voting against these people doesn’t come soon enough . Worst group of incompetent people I have ever seen.
NOW you’re thinking like a bureaucrat! Hire people just to administer a temperature check?!?
I was thinking maybe the swarm of security personnel already present could add a 10-second duty to what they already do without inconveniencing them too much……