How the tech start-ups are tackling COVID 19 and making the world a better place
With the pandemic growing extensively, that has claimed more than 50,000 lives and also giving a total number of confirmed positive cases to more than 1,000,000. Governments all over the world are calling out to all the tech firms in providing innovative solutions that would help in tackling the virus and flattening the curve.
The government of the UK recently took the initiative where it summoned more than 30 tech companies to come forward and asked for some innovative solutions which became famous as “Digital Dunkirk.” Many entrepreneurs, small/prominent, stepped forward to contribute towards the crisis to ease the burden.
Microsoft announced that the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is utilizing the company’s Azure-run healthcare chatbot service to help the doctors. A COVID-19 assessment bot that can quickly assess symptoms and suggest the next steps, which means either seeing a doctor or staying at home.
AWS has committed $20 million for creating a Diagnosing Development Unit, an attempt to create a faster and better solution for virus detection.
Also, various hackathons are organized at national levels to encourage startups to step up and provide solutions that have developed the services to fight the virus. For example, India launched its COVID 19 solutions challenge two weeks ago for the same.
Unfortunately, a lot of startups are facing a bitter time, and due to lockdown, with manufacturing and logistics firms have started showing hefty revenue losses already. Many firms are on the brink of bankruptcy, and many job losses will inevitably take place to cope up with the loss.
Amid these distressing times, there are some indeed encouraging and noteworthy solutions offered by tech startups which attribute to tremendous impact in curbing the pandemic:-
Trinity College Dublin startup SureWash previously developed a clinical hand-wash hygiene training app, which teaches doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals how to wash their hands in the workplace.
A startup called Slightly Robot has designed a wearable wristband called Immutouch, which vibrates to warn the user if the wearer touches their face. It uses a personalized algorithm and gravimeter to alert the user of any potentially “hazardous” gestures to encourage healthier habits.
PhoneSoap is a firm that makes devices that clean mobile phones and other electronic items with UV light.
The Danish startup UVD Robots has been playing in China by implementing robotic solutions to the healthcare facilities, and their job is spreading UV light to disinfect rooms contaminated with viruses or bacteria. These are some of the solutions that China has put into place to curb the spread of disease.
Let’s stay home, stay safe, and, most importantly, keep ourselves productive during the Quarantine. That’s all for now folks, and keep watching this space for more of such exciting stories.
