High-Tech vs. Corona: Satellites Track the Virus, Robots Deliver Food

Asian countries are putting artificial intelligence and new technologies into use to find innovative ways to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic that has killed thousands of people worldwide.

Governments in Asia are pushing universities and companies to fast track high-tech innovations to help track the outbreak, deliver medicine, develop vaccines and keep hospitals clean.

“Sometimes the pace of innovation in emerging digital technologies can be held back by infrastructure, financing and bureaucratic constraints,” says Jonathan Tanner, a digital consultant at the Overseas Development Institute think tank, to the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “When faced with a challenge like responding to the coronavirus outbreak, there are strong incentives to overcome these constraints quickly and put new technology to the test.”

Some of the technological advances include robots delivering meals and medications to patients in Singapore and authorities tracking potential carriers using phone and satellite technology in South Korea. In China, robots are being used to disinfect hospitals, artificial intelligence is scanning and sorting thousands of medical images to quickly spot infections, and drones are delivering medical supplies.