KUALA LUMPUR: The presence
of two auxiliary police personnel donning state-of-the-art helmet equipped with thermal scanners on board the KTM Komuter trains yesterday was met with amazement and curiosity by passengers travelling from KL Sentral to Bandar Tasik Selatan.
A number of awestruck commuters snapped pictures of the officers, who are personnel of Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB).
With the shiny black helmet covering part of their head and face mask concealing their face, they looked like cyborg half-man, half-cop characters from a futuristic blockbuster movie.
KTMB strategic communications head Ahmad Asri Khalbi said the two smart helmets were on loan from a local company on a two-week trial to allow the authorities to scan body temperatures of big crowds, such as train passengers.
"The smart helmet boasts 99.9 per cent accuracy in taking body temperatures and we are testing the units at our main station in KL Sentral.
"It has the ability to detect a person's body temperature at a distance of between 2m and 3m. That enables our personnel to walk freely around the station and the platform."
Ahmad Asri said the helmet wearer only need to look at the person to get his body temperature.
"This second body temperature screening via the smart helmet complements the static thermal machine at entry points of the station before commuters are allowed to proceed to the platform.
"This initiative complements our efforts in fighting Covid-19, apart from ensuring that commuters adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP)," he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
Ahmad Asri said the effectiveness of the smart helmets would be assessed once the trial period was over so that KTMB could decide whether it would acquire and use them at other stations.
He said the response of commuters was positive, with many saying they felt safe, knowing that steps had been taken to ensure that people adhered to the SOP on public transport.
He said people also lauded KTMB for stepping up efforts to break the Covid-19 chain of transmission.
"The feedback from the people is a pleasant surprise. Our aim is to defeat Covid-19, so these smart helmets add to KTMB's commitment to eliminate the virus.
"We would also like to remind commuters to do their part to protect themselves and the community against the virus." By Dawn Chan