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The brilliant idea came to him in the evening in front of the television.
Like millions of others, Thomas Fritz watched a lot of news in the early days of the corona pandemic.
The pictures from China often showed that the body temperature was measured by hand in front of almost every building.
“We can do that too, only better”, thought the boss and founder of the security technology manufacturer Kentix on the sofa - and immediately activated his developers.
Because the usual business of the medium-sized company from Idar-Oberstein in Rhineland-Palatinate, like many companies, was abruptly thwarted by the lockdown.
Kentix builds hazard monitoring systems for critical IT infrastructure, for example for server rooms.
These are small square boxes that measure temperature and humidity, among other things, but are also smoke and motion detectors.
"The built-in multi-sensor detects a total of 20 hazards", explains electrical engineer Fritz, who founded Kentix ten years ago and has 45 employees and an annual turnover of ten million euros.
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A clinical thermometer for contactless measurement of body temperature is now also part of the range: the SmartXcan.
“To do this, we made use of the existing technologies in the modular system,” says Fritz, whose team took six weeks to develop.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, fever is one of the most common symptoms of coronavirus disease.
According to experts, the isolation of people at high temperatures is correspondingly important.
But not everyone immediately notices a slight increase in temperature - and even if they do, not everyone stays at home.
Fear for their own job and high pressure in the company drive millions of sick workers into the company every year, as the AOK's "Absence Report 2019" shows: One in four of the health insurance members surveyed went to work against the advice of the doctor.
Kentix SmartXcan in action: The temperature is measured on the inner eyelid
Source: Kentix GmbH
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That can be dangerous these days.
"Fever screening for corona prevention is essential for keeping schools, offices and other institutions open," says entrepreneur Fritz, unsurprisingly.
He recommends on-the-spot checks in places where many people have to be.
This already happens in some places - be it in companies or at airports.
Measurements are then usually made using a hand-held infrared thermometer at a point on the forehead.
However, this can be comparatively imprecise, say experts.
The same applies to thermal imaging cameras that scan entire groups of people at the same time.
SmartXcan is the name of the square device from Kentix, which measures the temperature within a second without contact.
The user looks at a small circle in the middle of the box from a distance of about 30 centimeters.
The measuring point is the inner eyelid, as company boss Fritz explains.
The blood supply there guarantees a stable temperature.
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Users can keep masks on, but glasses have to be removed.
The result is displayed on a bar chart in red and green, plus there is an acoustic signal.
“We made the design as simple as possible so that the device doesn't become too expensive,” says Fritz.
He speaks of 695 euros.
The SmartXcan, which has been tried and tested in hospitals in the region, is mounted at an angle on a stele.
The device also connects to the company's building services via Ethernet.
If one of the users is found to have an elevated temperature, the company can automatically refuse access at the entrance door, for example.
There is enough competition, especially from China.
Nevertheless, Kentix has made a name for itself worldwide within a short time.
The medium-sized company has already sold more than 8,000 devices made in Idar-Oberstein, most of them abroad - including, fittingly, to the Mexican brewery Corona.