Embedded Linux Joins the Fight Against COVID-19

There are new devices on the market, working with embedded Linux, to help combat the growing pandemic. One such device is the Kogniz Health Cam, a camera that can scan groups of people walking through an entrance and check for temperatures from 16 feet away. Another similar device is the Raspberry Pi-based FluSense, which uses machine learning to detect coughing and crowd size and analyze the data to monitor flu-like symptoms. Both devices are capable of leveraging Linux to aid in the battle against COVID-19. 

In fact, there are a number of open source projects that are working for this cause. For instance, Chai’s Linux-driven BeagleBone-based Open qPCR is a Coronavirus Environmental Testing Kit which can test surfaces for COVID-19 from swab samples. 

Another project is Opentrons lab automation platform which is currently being adapted for COVID-19 testing on humans. Because Opentrons have open sourced their devices, the specs and code for the apps, protocols, and hardware are publically available.

There are also two open source projects dedicated to solving the ventilator problem. The first is OpenLung BVM Ventilator. This is an open collaboration between OpenLung and OpenSourceVentilator to produce a low resource, quick deployment ventilator design that utilizes a bag valve mask as it’s core component. The second is the Open Source Ventilator Project, created to address the predicated ventilator shortage. For this project, you can download the specs for all the modules and grab the source from Github.