So they're buying the camera for $10k, and selling the solution for $9k. The good news is that they're sharing the profits with the victims of corona virus. Oh wait - since there are no profits, does this mean they expect the victims to pay for the difference? This could be a new way to make money.

Thanks for the update!

FLIR does not make and or sell any device capable of detecting a virus. They make sensors that are capable of distinguishing temperatures based on very specific environments. Any company stating as Athena has done...puts themselves in a very bad position. Pretty sure Athena tried to market gun detection with thermal sensors before. That didn't work out for them either. This cavalier cowboy approach in this market creates so much unnecessary noise it's laughable. The fact that they tried to brush off a 644ID as a temperature camera is first of all...plain insulting. Any of the FLIR devices that have the sensitivity necessary to "detect" a fever are in extremely short supply and are weeks or even longer from possibly being delivered...this according to FLIR themselves. Every manufacturer that utilizes a FLIR core should be put on notice that the entire industry is watching...IPVM gives all of us watching, a place to raise concern and have our voices heard. Stop LYING to the market!! You all know who you are!!!

Any plans for IPVM to order and test their solution?

Whatever. Who cares. This industry has already devolved over the recent years with the DIY mediocre alarm systems and asian manufacturer garbage. No one is going to police the industry anymore. This industry is turning into dog eat dog and barely above snake oil sales tactics.

That being said, how many reputable manufacturers have screwed integrators or customers with their crap products and bs marketing claims. Lenel video anyone? PSIM?

History doesn't repeat itself but it often rhymes.

Wow! Come on Athena - just admit your fraud - the cover up is worse than the initial fake offering.

FLIR FC-644-ID-N

They used that camera for concealed weapons detection and even promote that.

This is contrary to the laws of physics, does not work with loose-fitting clothes, and works only if the weapon was very cold before being pressed to the body, but who cares?

Failed to sell concealed weapons detection service? It will turn out to sell for fever detection!)))

While Athena is a software company, our customers can use any camera that they prefer.

It is impossible to emphasize just how wrong this statement is.

In a theoretical fever detection system, the thermal camera and its accuracy, setup, and calibration would be absolutely crucial to getting reliable results. This would naturally result in a very narrow set of applicable cameras, the exact opposite of "customers can use any camera that they prefer".

I get personally frustrated when analytics companies attempt to try and leverage a crisis, or a federal grant program, or any other initiative to try and promote unworkable solutions. It ultimately just sets everyone back and does damage to the industry as a whole. In this case, the problem is even worse, as false claims can lead to potential deaths from unworkable solutions that are deployed as trusted sensors.

Accurate temperature (fever) detection via thermal camera in high throughput/standoff detection scenarios is an unrealistic expectation right now. If any company is going to solve this problem, it would be one that has been working on it and studying it for a duration much longer than COVID-19 has existed.

As a rule of thumb, I would probably run any proposed solution through a quick Google search or Wayback Machine search. If you don't get any hits prior to November 2019, you can probably move on.

Hired spokesperson, "Stop saying those things, you're hurting our bottom line.

Great reporting team! This is what I want from my national news as well.

IMO A little unfairly focus only on CEO Athena's. Chris Ciabarra, Athena's CTO, gave interviews, starred in all commercials and was responsible for faking the service work. In addition, he personally called IPVM liars and threatened a lawsuit.

It is very strange that before the scandal he was everywhere and then suddenly disappeared.

It would be interesting to hear his explanations of the "wonderful properties" of their service.

I've got a fever, and the only prescription is ...Lane Kasselman?

This strikes me as a mad scramble for damage limitation after the truth came out.

They would do well to just stop talking either that or clean up their act.

It would have been interesting to bait her a bit more and see what she was prepared to offer in hush money. What is their budget for IPVM bribes?

Most important: there is no way to detect "corona" with any camera. One might have been carrying the virus for 14 days in the meantime spreading it around before bodytemperature is rising.

Sorry, but X-RAY can...

Surely this a marketing experiment in how not to do damage control....

Knew I recognized the name Athena. Really pushy sales team who didn't bother to introduce themselves or ask anything about our operations when they contacted me... they just started talking about a random solution I didn't ask for. It was super odd.

I'll take a verkada rep over a Athena rep anyday. Atleast I get a Yeti.

I dunno, I feel like this “coronavirus” thing is going to be a lot worse than anticipated. I hope it will just “go away” with the warm weather, but it’s almost April already - and it’s getting worse.

Mutations will inevitably occur, and I see a multi-year struggle ensuing.

On the bright side, I predict vaccines (Pfizer) will be emergency use authorized by mid Nov., not quite in time for Trump, who will lose the election with the same electoral count he won in 2016 with, amid an unprecedented surge in mail-in voting. Olympics will be postponed, schools will go virtual, I could go on, but you get the point :)

Back to Athena:

"nitpicking of marketing approach"

"I don’t want it to get nit picked"

so, Athena, is it one word or two? which is it??

*note: the above is a demonstration of nitpicking*

repeated deceptions regarding a product used for life and death decisions is anything but.

Awesome Update! Most buyers would not see the deception and pay for something that will prove useless...

Blinding drive to succeed at any cost- which Stanford blonde wore it better?

I see what you did there, very witty. Very accurate too, I wonder what drives people to knowingly misstate their position in such a way?

Other solutions in this space include SATIR and Sunell which are the same identical product except for branding from what it appears in a side by side comparison. Both manufacturers claim to be the real manufacturer and that the other is an OEM partner with a private label. Clearly one if them is not telling the truth about who or what they are. Does anyone have insight to the real provider and claims around their fever detection solutions? Lots of requests and noise going around about these products, so the truth would be good to know.

NOTICE: This comment has been moved to its own discussion: Sunell Vs SATIR - Who Is The Real Manufacturer?

Small update from Athena Security: looks like they are using some unknown chinese camera in the hospital in Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center. I think this is a good reason for visit that hospital and check their system in action.

Meanwhile, Athena Security published 3 video during three days with their advertisement.

Seems to be, they had installed systems in:

1. Ruckit company

2. Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center

3. Propeller Airport

The reportage on the Fox 26 channel became the cherry on the cake.

But I saw next things:

1. They changed camera from Hikvision on some unknown. More likely something like that

2. This camera has no ventilation holes or built-in cooler. This means that the accuracy of her testimony greatly depends on the time spent in working condition. What has repeatedly proved IPVM during the testing such solutions.

3. The system for work requires that the visitors approach it one at a time and stop. What is very different from what was announced 1.5 months ago ("This is far faster than the current system being used in airports–the handheld temp readers–which have snarled lines at airports like Chicago’s O’Hare" and "1,000 temperature readings an hour")

4. They began to use the black body, although before that they claimed that it was not mandatory and the system was accurate enough without it.

5. Their software caused either laughter or tears. You just look at it! Even unknown Chinese brands have better quality of UI/UX experience. One gets the feeling that it was taken some kind of open source solution and just flooded the logotype of Athena Security. Maybe someone even knows what they used? Pay attention to the logo in the Window's taskbar.

6. At the moment, all their statements about 1000 cameras sold for Fortune 500 companies do not have any confirmation. So far, it’s only clear that they have installed their systems in 3 places, it’s quite possible that for free.

OMG, The Wall Street Journal also here... It become a fashionable among journalists to write articles without any fact-checking, or am I not understanding something?

They continue to lie and the media are help them to spread the lie ((((

Chris Ciabarra, Athena's CTO, cannot say that they are just selling low-quality Chinese cameras with a sself-made desktop client on Python. Therefore, he has to constantly portray that they are doing something important and unique. Why he can't you just stop lying?