Almost a year after the COVID-19 madness started, we’re still very much held hostage by this pandemic. By now, it is even more apparent that the only way we can succeed in this fight is if we start helping each other out. Various companies have heeded this call and devoted a sizable amount of their resources for this cause. Japanese carmaker Nissan is one of these firms. In fact, last May, the company joined the IP Open Access Declaration Against COVID-19.

Under this declaration, Nissan and other signatories have agreed to not ask for compensation or assert rights over patents, designs or utility models that it owns, or make copyright claims. That is, as long as these will be used to help beat the pandemic that appears to have no end in sight (for now).

Nissan has an advanced contactless temperature-measuring sensor that is likely an iteration of the infrared camera used on ProPilot 2.0-equipped vehicles like the Skyline. Basically, this detects IR rays emitted by certain objects and provides a visual map of the target’s temperature distribution. The images have a crisp 2000p resolution that increases the sensor’s accuracy. Nissan claims that the manufacturing cost of its technology is considerably lower than those made using “conventional means.”

Chino Corporation and Seiko NPC Corporation plan to use said technology in making devices to measure body surface temperatures, sans the physical contact. This could be used in various facilities like schools, transportation hubs and medical centers to help curb the spread of the virus.

The development of different vaccines and technology like this does give us hope in what seems like a tunnel with no opening. It’s still a long fight, but these small steps will hopefully beat COVID-19 and restore normalcy in our lives that we used to take for granted.