The Naval Dockyard here hasdeveloped a low-cost handheld temperature sensor to screen its personnel in light of the coronavirus outbreak in the city, an official said on Thursday.As many as 20,000 personnel enter the 285-year-old naval dock and Western Naval Command in South Mumbai every day.All personnel are allowed inside only after proper screening at the gates, the official said.The infrared-technology-based sensor is manufactured using in-house resources under Rs 1,000 (which is fraction of the cost of temperature guns available in the market), he said.Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, screening became essential to prevent the spread of the virus within the yard and the Western Fleet, he said.There is a shortage of non-contact thermometers or temperature guns in the market and the device has become expensive since the outbreak, he said.Citing these reasons, the Naval Dockyard designed and developed its own handheld IR-based temperature sensor with accuracy of 0.02 deg celsius, he said.The device has an infrared sensor and an LED display, with a micro-controller, which runs on a 9V battery, the official said.The dockyard is capable to scaling up the production of this affordable device and is in the process of searching for its components, he added.
