Hope through Innovation

For the past few months, news related to the coronavirus pandemic has flooded my social media accounts, become the focal point of my favorite podcasts, and taken over popular TV shows that I enjoy watching. It has been hard to focus on anything else other than COVID-19 and its overwhelming impact across many aspects of our lives. These news stories often make me feel frustrated and uncertain about what the future holds. But every so often – and recently with increasing frequency – I come across encouraging and inspiring stories about entrepreneurs, researchers, makers, and doers who nearly instantly and very dramatically pivot their priorities to solve challenges related to the pandemic. In this post, I want to share a few of these innovations that caught my attention and make me feel hopeful for what’s to come.

Many start-ups are developing tools to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. This includes virus spread modeling based on artificial intelligence, symptom-tracking solutions, chatbots for diagnoses, people-tracking for infection notification, and disinfection technology.

The start-up Inokyo, which builds and installs autonomous check-out for retail stores, has used its technical knowledge to build a product, Act, specifically to help companies deploy contact-tracing technology to their workplaces and warehouses. Act uses cameras and computer vision technology to determine whether infected employees have been in close proximity to their colleagues. Inokyo originally developed this technology for grocery shopping (similar to Amazon Go) and has rapidly adapted it to this new use case.

Photo Credit: Inokyo

Another company called OhmniLabs is facilitating virtual visits during the pandemic with its “telepresence” robot. The robot is essentially a remotely-controlled high-tech stick on wheels fitted with high resolution cameras. Ohmni is now deploying these robots in hospitals to connect quarantined patients with their families and donating them to care organizations to enable virtual visits with seniors who are isolated at home.

Photo credit: OhmniLabs

Digital Aerolus has developed an indoor drone equipped with C-band ultraviolet (UVC) lights to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Rather than using GPS and sensors, Digital Aerolus’ drone combines artificial intelligence with math from deep space navigation to fly in confined spaces and disinfect surfaces.

Photo credit: Digital Aerolus

Other companies are working to address challenges as people are trying to adapt to physical distancing guidelines. This space includes digital teleworking tools, home-schooling solutions, safe delivery solutions, and stress coping mechanisms.

Microgreen kit producer Hamama is helping people grow green produce at home, since access to fresh produce is much harder to come by for communities or individuals who are quarantined at home or sheltering in place.

Photo credit: Hamama

One of the largest online retailers in China, JD.com, successfully utilized autonomous robot vehicles to deliver food, medicine, and other supplies in Wuhan. By rapidly addressing previous last mile issues (issues related to the movement of goods from a transportation hub or warehouse to its final delivery destination) with autonomous vehicles, JD.com delivered over 100 million masks over a 3-day period.

Photo credit: KrASIA

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has restarted its season with virtual fans. The NBA is using Microsoft Teams to project more than 300 fans live courtside during games. The fans appear on 17-foot video screens and are able to interact with one another. This experience allows fans to feel like they are at a live game and gives players a similar energy boost that they get from “live” support.

Photo credit: NBC News

These are only some of the innovations that are out there, and I am certain that more will come, as efforts to combat the pandemic continue; a much-needed dose of hope to help us face the future of this pandemic and the new normal.