Flint Bishop Airport will be the first airport in the U.S. to test smart helmets to screen passengers. Airport police will wear the helmets equipped with cameras and thermal imagining technology to tell passengers' temperature in an effort to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

“This device is a game-changer,” Airport Director Nino Sapone said in a statement. “It has the ability to perform several functions, including detecting the temperature of multiple people at a distance of up to 21 feet with precision accuracy."

If a passenger has a temperature higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, the officer will take them to the ticket counter of the airline they're flying. The airline will be able to decide if that person will be allowed to fly. Non-passengers with elevated temperatures will be asked who they had contact with and will be asked to leave.

“The helmet is the first mobile platform of its kind, allowing our Police Officers the flexibility to walk the terminal building and randomly screen both incoming and outgoing passengers,” Sapone said in a statement.

Each helmet costs $10,000, and are able to read license plates and has facial recognition technology. But the airport said that officers will only use the helmets to check temperatures for now.

The helmets are already being used in other countries. The technology was developed in Italy and is being used to screen passengers at the airport in Rome. Health workers in India and police officers in China actively use the helmets, too.

Photo: Getty Images

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