Internet of Things says US government’s China ban will boost market penetration for its ThermalPass fever detection system

Internet of Things Inc (CVE:ITT) (OTCMKTS:INOTF), which has developed its ThermalPass fever detection system to help countries manage the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), said Thursday that the US government has “handed us a huge advantage” by banning Chinese rivals.  The company noted that the US General Service Administration has directed that government contractors must remove surveillance and camera equipment from Chinese-blacklisted companies immediately. Failure to do so will result in these contractors being banned from future participation in any US government contracts. In April 2020, the US Department of Defense enforced the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 'blacklist clause' covering several non-US-based, video surveillance equipment manufacturers.  READ: Internet of Things fever detection technology ThermalPass featured on Reuters TV Internet of Things said the federal government’s decision has created an enormous market opportunity for ThermalPass' sensor-based, non-camera fever-detection solution. Unlike thermal camera technologies covered in this enforcement, ThermalPass uses medical-grade, touchless temperature sensors, capturing 400 readings per second and detecting body temperature with an accuracy of 0.2° Celsius, making it one of the most reliable and accurate fever detection devices on the market.    "The recent Department of Defense enforcement has handed us a huge advantage for US market penetration," said CEO Michael Lende in a statement.  Lende said privacy concerns helped drive the government’s decision on Chinese companies.   “Conversely with ThermalPass, no image is captured and therefore end-user anonymity is categorically preserved,” he said. “ThermalPass also adheres to social distancing protocol, requiring no human intervention while performing its temperature scans.”  On the sales front, Lende said interest from a wide swath of government entities and private enterprises in North America is strong. “We are currently negotiating with several prominent distribution organizations in the US and Canada, to market and sell ThermalPass into universities, schools, property management companies, hospitals, government buildings and hotels," he said.   Increasing demand for thermal technologies Internet of Things also noted a report by Yole Development, a market research company in France, which found an increasing demand for thermal technologies thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Based on industry indicators, thermal imagers will be a $7.6 billion market, up 76% from 2019. Yole also said it expects that more than 1.5 million fever detection devices will be deployed over the next four years. However, Internet of Things noted that Yole said some weaknesses need to be addressed as thermal imagers proliferate globally. Temperature accuracy is one of them -- as thermal imagers detect temperature only within a 2 to 5 Celsius (plus or minus) accuracy. But for fever detection, experts say you need to be around or below 0.5 Celsius, and ideally below 0.1 Celisus, to avoid letting feverish people through. Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham