Hello. This is 6 Minute English from
BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
And I'm Sam - still working from home, as
you can hear. But for many, the return to
the office has begun.
And to make things safe, new thermal
cameras are being installed in some
workplaces. They
measure body temperature
to screen for coronavirus.
After weeks of working at home the
return to the office is slowly
getting underway in
a number of countries.
But workplaces are having to change
in this coronavirus era. Lots of
companies are rushing
to install technology to make offices and
workplaces safer.
Sensors that monitor our
movements, smartphone apps
that alert us if we get too close to
workmates and even devices
that take our temperature could all
become the new normal - that's
a phrase we hear a lot
these days, meaning a previously
unfamiliar situation that has become
usual and expected.
In this programme we'll take a look at how
this technology works and ask if it really
is the answer we're looking for.
But first, today's quiz question.
The thermal cameras I mentioned
screen for coronavirus
by recording skin temperature in the area
of the body which most
closely resembles the
internal body temperature - but
which area is that? Is it:
a) the eye, b) the ear, or c) the nose?
I'll say a) the eye.
OK, Sam. We'll find out later if you were
right. Now, as employees slowly return to
work, tech companies are busy
finding ways for them to do so safely.
One such company,
'Microshare', is managed
by Charles Paumelle.
He spoke to BBC World Service
programme Tech Tent
to explain a possible solution.
The technology that we are offering
is using Bluetooth wristbands
or tags that people are
wearing within the workplace which
detect proximity events.
When the proximity event
has been recorded its been saved
by the company in case they need to,
further down the line,
retrace the steps of a certain person who
has been declared as infected
and inform anyone
else they may have been in contact with.
One important way to control coronavirus
involves contact tracing. This means
that someone who
tests positive for the disease informs
everyone else they've been
in contact with. Microshare's
system for this uses Bluetooth -
technology that allows computers,
mobile phones and other
devices to communicate with each other
without being connected by wires.
Employees wear Bluetooth wristbands
which register when workers
come into close proximity
- how near a person is to another person.
Anyone who has been close to
a workmate will then know they
have to take action if that
person is found to have coronavirus
later down the line - in the future.
Wearing wristbands, monitoring data
on smartphones and being recorded
by cameras - it all feels
like quite a big invasion of privacy,
doesn't it?
It certainly does, and although some
argue that such measures
are necessary in these
unprecedented times, others are
worried about the possible
consequences. Here's human rights
lawyer, Ravi Naik, with a warning:
From a human rights perspective, you
have to try to ask, are you
trying to use tech
for tech's sake - is this actually going to
facilitate an understanding of who is safe
to go back to work or not?
And if not, what's the necessity
of this because it's such a
significant interference with basic
human rights. There has to be
a high level of evidential
justification to deploy this
type of technology and
I just don't think it's there.
Ravi questions whether these devices
will actually help identify
who can return to work,
or whether the technology is being
used for its own sake - an expression
meaning doing
something because it is interesting
and enjoyable, not because you need to.
Ravi's work as a lawyer involves finding
proof that something is right or wrong.
If people's
human rights are being interfered with,
he thinks there has to be
evidential justification
- explanation of the reasons
why something is the right thing to do,
based on evidence.
Like the evidence from
screening body temperature...
...which bring us back to today's quiz
question. Remember I asked
you which part of the body
is scanned by thermal cameras
to measure body temperature.
And I said a) the eye.
And you were absolutely right!
There's a small area of the eye
close to the tear ducts which
is the most accurate part of the skin
for measuring body temperature.
Well, there you go. We've been discussing
how thermal cameras
and other workplace devices
being used to prevent coronavirus
are becoming the new normal - a
previously unfamiliar situation
that is becoming normalised.
Some of these devices are wristbands
with Bluetooth - technology
allowing computers
and smartphones to communicate
remotely without wires. They can identify
work colleagues who
have been in close proximity - in other
words, near to each other.
That will be helpful if one of them tests
positive for coronavirus further down the
line - at some point in the future.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused
massive changes in workplaces
around the world but
some critics are concerned
that contact tracing technology
is being used for its own sake
- because it is interesting and enjoyable
to do, rather than
being absolutely necessary.
And since much of the new tech
invades personal privacy
it should only be introduced with
evidential justification - explanation of
why it is the right thing to do, based on
evidence.
Unfortunately, that's all we've got time for,
but remember join us again. Bye for now!
Bye!