IoT-Based Smart Hand Sanitizer Dispenser (COVID-19)

In spite of the advancements in the health department, coronavirus has proved to be an invisible enemy for which the world was not ready. The virus has primarily spread through contact and respiratory droplets. Hand-sanitizing and wearing a mask are the most common ways to avoid the transmission of the infection and prevent people from becoming infected. At public places such as general stores or banks, there is an urgent requirement of a device that can perform these tasks accurately and without human interference. This smart hand sanitizer dispenser automates the job done by the appointed person without human interference. It dispenses the sanitizer and checks the body temperature automatically. This is achieved using an ultrasonic sensor and MLX90614 temperature sensor, respectively. All the sensors and actuators are connected to a microcontroller that acts as the brain of the device. Furthermore, it also detects whether the customer (human) is wearing a mask or not. If the customer is not wearing a mask, he/she will not be allowed inside the shop, or the gates to the shop will not open. OpenCV is used to detect the face in real time, and then, the classification is done using a convolutional neural network. Finally, all the data is stored on the cloud simultaneously for further analysis. © 2022 selection and editorial matter, O.V. Gnana Swathika, K. Karthikeyan and Sanjeevikumar Padmanaban;individual chapters, the contributors