Contactless kiosks that allow users to take their own temperature within two seconds are being rolled out at busy bus interchanges and MRT stations.
They are part of an initiative to encourage people to monitor their temperature regularly, said the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) yesterday.
Users stand in front of the kiosk and a thermal sensor detects the heat signature from their foreheads to provide a reading accurate to plus or minus 0.3 deg C. A green light indicates no fever, while an orange light will flash if the system detects elevated temperatures.
MCCY said that in the latter case, the person should use another thermometer to verify his temperature and see a doctor immediately if he has a fever or is unwell. Fever is one of the typical symptoms of Covid-19.
The machines have been deployed at five locations - Braddell, Boon Keng and Tiong Bahru MRT stations, as well as Bukit Panjang and Serangoon bus interchanges - and will be available at 70 locations by the third quarter of this year. They will be there for up to a year.
The kiosks are a joint initiative by the MCCY, the Land Transport Authority and the Defence Science and Technology Agency, and were developed in collaboration with Singapore-based engineering company Hope Technik.
"We think this is a good way for the public to be socially responsible and to remind them to work together to keep Singapore safe," said the senior director of the resilience and engagement division of MCCY, Mr Letchumanan Narayanan, announcing the initiative at Braddell MRT station.
Commuter Samantha Tan, 19, said the machines would be a convenient workaround since she does not own a thermometer.
They are also fast compared with handheld temperature devices, the student added, after trying one out yesterday.
Madam Lim Swee Eng, 70, agreed that the kiosk shows a temperature reading very quickly.
"You don't need to have someone pointing a sensor at your forehead," the retiree said.
She suggested that the kiosks could be improved by having a lower height setting for children.
