Miso Robotics Deploys AI Screening Devices to Detect Signs of Fever at Restaurants
Emergent Insight:
The fight against COVID-19 is resulting in societies accepting technology disruptions like never before. A prime example is reported in this post by Kyle Wiggers at Venture Beat. It’s known that an elevated fever is a symptom of the cornavirus so why not measure people’s body temperatures when necessary? Such as in a healthcare facility or in an office and wait… in a restaurant? This could become the new reality if virus outbreaks become more common. Facial recognition and body temperature readings would be important data collected by businesses, hospitals and, of course, the government to help in identifying potential outbreaks. Strengthening our safety in this way also raises questions about our individual privacy so balances will need to be found. How much personal information do we give up to assure our health and safety? There are challenging ethical questions ahead.
Original Article:
Image Credit: Miso Robotics
Miso Robotics, a startup developing robots that can perform basic cooking tasks in commercial kitchens, today announced that it has deployed new tools to its platform in CaliBurger restaurants will be part of an advanced approach with CaliGroup intended to improve safety and health standards. The hope is to minimize the threat of infection for patrons and delivery workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has sickened hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.
In the coming weeks, in partnership with payment provider PopID, Miso will install a thermal-based screening device in a CaliBurger location in Pasadena, California, that attaches to doors to measure the body temperatures of people attempting to enter the restaurant, along with Miso’s Flippy robot in the kitchen, to address health concerns. Before entering, the staff, delivery drivers, and guests will have to scan their faces, and if the device sensor detects the person has a fever, they won’t be allowed to enter the building.
Miso says that store owners will be able to opt into text messages alerting them that someone whose temperature reading is in line with health and safety standards is at the door, at which point employees will be able to open the door manually. Other settings will allow for security and privacy measures, including facial recognition linked to approved employees or residents.

“While the initial use case will be for CaliBurger, the technology could be applied to other buildings such as offices, homes and other public places of business to ensure the health and safety of those entering,” said a Miso spokesperson via email. They also noted that while all scan data is anonymized, it can be pooled together to analyze patterns in populations and regions and identify trends. “Wider adoption could serve to identify hot spots and pikes in the spread of COVID-19 and other transmissible viruses within populations and regions, serving as a source of information for officials seeking to traction initial sources of outbreak.”