What Is Touchless Technology and How Can We Use It?

Touchless technology is the future. In 2020, we were all asked to social distance and wash our hands after touching anything.

In the wake of COVID, good hygiene has become vital. New touchless motion sensors have gained importance in various areas. Keep reading to learn more about touchless technology. 

Cross Contamination

When it comes to touchless technology, a reason for this surge has been the ongoing threat of COVID-19. The virus has us all thinking more about what we touch. Cross-contamination can make you sick. 

That means that if you touch a keypad after someone else who is sick, you could get sick, too. That works for any virus. Now with COVID, we are more concerned about bacterial growth on the items we touch. 

Cross-contamination is the transfer of bacteria from one place to another.  It happens with food all the time, but viruses can spread from one person to another much the same way. That is why we have gotten directed to wipe down counters and doorknobs with bleach products. 

When you go to the store and swipe your credit card, you get asked to sign on a keypad or punch in your four-digit code. Have you ever thought about how many other people have touched the machine that you are using?

What about elevator buttons? Bacteria growth can get higher on those than some toilets! Even those were cleaner than hospital keyboards, which get used by many people. It may seem gross to think about, but you need to know where bacterial growth might be so you can avoid it. 

Good hygiene makes a difference. If you use something someone else has touched, you need to wash your hands as soon as possible. At a minimum, keep hand sanitizer with you. 

Touchless Technology

With the growth of touchless technology, motion sensors have become more popular. Bathrooms are using them so that people visiting them don’t have to touch with handles on the toilets. 

There are wearable devices that track body temperatures. If the person wearing the device gets a fever, there is a notification right away.

Some stand-alone devices now allow you to walk up to them and lean in without touching them. They then produce an audible readout of your temperature. These systems use thermal cameras to scan bodies.

Some security systems need people to get buzzed in. The old systems required the insert of a badge or your palm. After COVID, that was not safe, so touchless technology allows for entry improvements. 

Retail and grocery stores have gotten on the touchless trend as well. In some places, you can tap your card to pay without having to touch any buttons. That way you come in contact with fewer germs and reduce the risk of cross-contamination. 

Mobile applications have set a high standard for paying for things like food and movies. Now you can even leave a tip right on your app so that you have no contact with the delivery driver.  These applications promote cashless transactions. 

Airlines have started using mobile boarding passes. In some places, you don’t have to go to the ticket window anymore. 

Voice recognition allows a user to interact with technology by speaking. That is a recognizable feature to some who use it with their cell phones. Now there are home devices that allow you to make hands-free requests. 

Facial recognition now can control more than your phone. In some areas, it gets used to start video conferencing when someone walks into a room. 

Some doctor’s offices have started using touchless check-in processes. That helps keep the visitors and office staff healthy.

How It Works

Touchless technology uses gestures as a way to input data or communicate. We’ve all used automatic doors and hand dryers for years. Still, the COVID pandemic brought on changes and improvements in the touchless world. 

Since the public perception of good hygiene has changed, engineers had to fix some things. Software developers changed mobile applications. They expanded their technologies or altered them to offer contactless payment. 

Some corporations liked having a personal touch with people taking payments at kiosks. Now, with more companies concerned about employee health, they are embracing touchless technology.

Retail chains have computer systems that can read your card by a simple tap rather than a swipe. You can walk up to the machine and tap your card against the touchless symbol, and the computer can send a receipt to your email. Now, you don’t even have to touch the paper receipt from a store clerk. 

Healthcare organizations got hit hard by COVID. They had to change how things got done. Now, in most hospitals, before you’re allowed in, you go through a temperature reader. 

Non-contact thermometers work by using infrared rays. Once it scans the person, it reads within a temperature range. The person reading the numbers then lets you pass through if the temp is considered normal.

Some technologies use gesture trackers. These predict what the user will touch and follows that motion. The software uses artificial intelligence and can get incorporated into existing touchscreens. 

For offices that don’t want an in-person registration process, touchless technology allows the patient to use a QR code. The visitor scans the code, and that lets the staff know the person has checked in. 

The Touchless Advantage

Using touchless technology implies the user can handle transactions without touching another surface. That is especially important when it comes to public areas. 

Shared devices should become avoided areas of use whenever possible. With touchless systems evolving every day, soon no one should have to touch any public surface. 

Touchless technology not only helps keep you safe but also offers a level of convenience.  Be sure to check out our other articles for more amazing content!