How Artificial Intelligence is Fighting Deadly CoronaVirus
By Oliver Smith on The Capital
Coronavirus outbreak is proving to be catastrophic for the world with global cases reaching 171,112 with death toll crossing 6,526. Continuous funds are being raised by the UN and WHO to facilitate the research for vaccines against this novel virus. The scientific communities across the world have galvanized to find a solution for this pandemic. The spread of this virus is changing by the day and even by the hour.
It’s a worldwide emergency and threatening lives as well as business all across the world. It is feared that coronavirus can cut the global economy to half. We are now at a critical juncture in the outbreak. As COVID-19 is the hot topic with taking all attention, drug discovery and diagnosis have become important and with AI there can be a lot of saving of time and lives. In this article, we’ll discuss how AI helps to fight the virus and its economic impact.
Wonders of AI to Battle Against this Pandemic
Following are some examples of how AI is helping to fight this deadly disease:
Detection of Virus
AI-powered systems are being developed for the detection of these diseases with much accuracy. Alibaba has recently claimed to develop a new AI system that can detect coronavirus in CT scans of patients with a 96% accuracy rate in comparison to viral pneumonia cases. It promises more accuracy and cuts down the time required for detection to only 20 seconds. This is a revolutionary improvement since other methods take around 15–20mins for analysis of CT scans.
AI Drones for Rescue
Chinese are using drones to reinforce contactless monitoring of the corona outbreak. Such machines are installed in more than 40 hospitals around the country by Pudu Technology from Shenzhen to help medical staff in monitoring. Drones are also being deployed to transport medical samples and conduct thermal imaging to monitor the temperature of people without direct contact. Such drones have loudspeakers installed that are giving instructions to people to use masks and take precautionary measures.
Intelligent Robots
Robots are playing a crucial role during this outbreak. AI-powered robots are being used to disinfect patient’s rooms with zero human interference. Pandemics like Coronavirus, make human assistance both critical and dangerous as the medical attendant is at the severe risk of catching the disease. Such robots emit ultraviolet rays over the region to disinfect and terminate any kind of virus. Moreover, as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread, robot nursing is used as an ideal and safe medical option to help treat patients and minimize person to person interaction. Robot nursing saves and not risks the health of hospital employees.
AI Sensors
Artificial intelligence applications are continuously helping contain epidemics of Coronavirus. Many AI sensors are installed at crowded public places such as bus terminals and railway stations in different cities to monitor the flow of people. Innovative AI tools are being deployed to identify at-risk persons by directing AI infrared sensors at the forehead of individuals to detect their body temperature if it is more than the normal authorities are informed. This tool helps to identify suspects and prevent them from spreading the virus.
Advanced AI Facial Recognition Technology
Facial recognition technology is being used for surveillance in many countries but its accuracy is reduced to only 30% when deployed on masked persons. But AI has got us covered in this area as well. Advanced facial recognition technology is developed to recognize people donning face masks during this deadly outbreak. This technology can recognize people with masks accurately. This technology is not only being used to recognize people but for unprecedented monitoring. This technology also identifies individuals not wearing masks to warn them. AI-powered facial recognition technology is used to monitor temperature from the forehead of an individual to detect the infected people out of many.
To wrap up, as this virus springs up, artificial intelligence application helps us in enduring such outbreaks. AI abilities are on full showcase with the ongoing coronavirus flare-up, which was distinguished right on time to assess general wellbeing dangers. AI is even assisting scientists and researchers in drug and vaccine design against this virus. The gene sequencing of this virus has already been done in this short time to help further study it.
