The epidemic has had an irreversible effect on the world economy and on every person in particular: our lives will never be the same again. But is it fair to say that the quarantine brought us only trouble and unpleasantness, or is it still a good thing that humanity had to reorient itself so quickly and change the development track? Let’s look at what technological innovations and services have emerged and spread because of the virus.- Technical innovations
Applications to monitor the risk of infection
Such services track a person’s movements, record his most recent contacts and calculate the risks of becoming infected in a given place. China was the expected leader in such developments: the popular messenger WeChat and the Alipay payment system quickly gained additional functionality. In WeChat, it is possible to see in real-time at what distance the user recorded the cases of infection COVID-19, as well as receive notification of the risk of infection, noting on the map recently visited places or those where the trip is only planned. Alipay is actively used around the country: a person is assigned a personal QR code, where his health condition and the latest contacts are registered (of course, there are concerns that such apps invade privacy, and there are quite a few studies on the subject). The development of similar applications was carried out in many countries at the state level: in Italy, for example, the Immuni service appeared, in Australia – COVIDSafe.
Robotization wherever possible- Technical innovations
In China, the epidemiological situation has led to the active introduction of robotic couriers that deliver food and medicine. The Meituan Dianping platform has organized contactless food delivery by robots, and the Celestial police are actively using drones to track and warn quarantine violators. Disinfection robots, which move autonomously like robot vacuum cleaners, are actively used to decontaminate hospital rooms and public places. They mainly use disinfectant spray technology or ultraviolet radiation. visit here
Artificial intelligence in the service of medicine
Artificial intelligence systems from BenevolentAI are actively analyzing already known drugs for their effectiveness in treating coronavirus. A neural network developed by the Chinese company Alibaba analyzes CT scans of patients’ lungs to quickly and accurately distinguish COVID-induced pneumonia from any other. Microsoft’s collaboration with major American research institutes has led to the development of CORD-19 Explorer, a search engine and essay writer service for a database of current scientific literature on coronavirus. Artificial intelligence will allow for a more efficient comparison of growing pandemic data sets by analyzing studies from different countries.
Remote Work, Learning, and Medicine
Moving to telecommute has forced many to change their approach to work: work conferencing tools (Zoom, Skype, Slack) have become popular. Remote learning led to a rethinking of the traditional system and the introduction of new technologies: for example, a math teacher conducted a virtual lesson in the shooter Half-Life: Alyx, applying the principles of gamification in education. Also, during the pandemic, the demand for telemedicine services – online consultations with doctors of various profiles – increased dramatically. Insurance companies abroad and in Russia quickly reacted to the trend, so now telemedicine has become a popular option.
Virtual concerts and movie theaters- Technical innovations
Self-isolation caused the expected rise in popularity of various streaming services, online movie theaters, and, of course, multiplayer games. Large-scale music events were canceled due to the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. However, even here, alternative solutions were found: some artists began to organize live concerts within multiplayer games. In May, the Block by Blockwest festival became widely known, where guest musicians performed in Minecraft. The real technological breakthrough and just a bright event was the concert of Travis Scott in Fortnite. More than 12 million players watched the spectacular live performance at the same time, without losing the ability to interact with the game world.
