So, the coronavirus is the hottest topic of recent weeks. We also fell into a wave of general panic, bought Arbidol and canned food, switched to home schooling and work, and handed over air tickets. Therefore, we have more free time, and we have collected some interesting solutions and technologies that are used to fight the epidemic (most of the cases are from China).
First, some statistics:
Drones are indispensable
Chinese drones that were previously used to spray pesticides in agriculture were quickly adapted to spray disinfectants in crowded places and public transport. For these purposes, XAG Technology drones are used. On farms, one such device covers 60 hectares per hour.
Drones are being used for delivery. And while postal technology in Russia hits a client wall at best, the Chinese government, together with JD, worked out a delivery system for goods in just a few days: they designed flight corridors, received permission to use the airspace, and conducted tests.
In Spain, in the early days of quarantine, the police and military patrolled the streets and controlled the behavior of the population (we remind you that now it is only allowed to leave home to get to work, buy food and medicine). Drones are now flying through the empty streets, reminding them of precautionary measures and monitoring compliance with quarantine conditions over the loudspeaker.
Let's recognize that the atmosphere of universal self-isolation and quarantine will affect not only our mental health, but also automation and the development of robotics. Now in China, robots from the Danish company UVD Robots are disinfecting hospitals - a device equipped with ultraviolet lamps (upper part, see photo). The robot is controlled remotely, while it creates a digital map of the room. An employee of the hospital marks on the map the points that the robot must process, it takes 10-15 minutes for one room. The developers claim that the robot kills 99% of microorganisms within a radius of one meter in a few minutes. And if a person enters the room during disinfection, the device will automatically turn off the ultraviolet lamps.
By the way, Youibot, another Chinese robot manufacturer, promised to create the same sterilization robot in 14 days, but much cheaper (the Danes worked on theirs for four years). So far, one UVD Robots robot costs hospitals $80 to $90.
Smart apps that decide who to quarantine
The Chinese government, together with Alibaba and Tencent, has developed a system for assessing a person's quarantine status using a color-coded QR code. An additional feature is now built into the Alipay payment app. The user fills out an online form with data on recent trips, health status and movements around the city. After registration, the application issues an individual color QR code (by the way, in China, almost all payments are made via QR): red, yellow or green. Depending on the color, the user is either ordered to remain in quarantine or allowed to appear in public places.
Citizens with a red code are required to stay at home in quarantine for 14 days, with a yellow code for seven. Green color, respectively, removes all restrictions on movement.
There are checkpoints for checking the QR code in almost all public places (they usually check the temperature there as well). The Chinese government assures that the system will help checkpoint employees to work on highways and railways. But Hangzhou residents are already reporting that some are being asked to show QR codes at the entrance to residential complexes and shopping malls.
But the most important element of public control is the residents of the country themselves, who regularly inform city authorities about suspicious neighbors. For example, in the city of Shijiazhuang, local residents are offered a reward of up to 2 yuan (22 rubles) for information about people who traveled to Wuhan and did not report it, or for data on those who violated the prescribed quarantine.
AR helmets (mixed reality) for police officers
Police officers in Shanghai and some other cities in China were issued AR helmets developed by Kuang-Chi Technology. The device allows you to check the temperature of people at a distance of up to 5 meters using infrared cameras in a few seconds. If the helmet detects a person with a fever, an audio alert will sound. The device is also equipped with a camera with a face recognition algorithm and a QR code reader. Citizen information will be displayed on a virtual screen inside the helmet.
Helmets certainly look very futuristic.
The police in China are generally doing well in this regard: since 2018, employees of the railway station in Henan province have been given smart glasses resembling Google Glass. The device allows you to take photos, shoot videos in HD quality and display some elements on the lenses using augmented reality technology. And, of course, it was not without the face recognition function (GLXSS glasses are the development of a local startup LLVision).
According to the Chinese police, during the month of using smart glasses, the police detained 26 passengers with fake passports and seven wanted people.
And finally, big data
China is the world leader in the number of smart video cameras that already help determine the circle of contacts of infected citizens, crowded places, etc. Now there are companies (such as SenseTime and Hanwang Technology) claiming to have developed a special facial recognition technology that can accurately identify a person, even if he is wearing a medical mask.
By the way, Al Jazeera (an international broadcaster) reported that China Mobile sent text messages to state media agencies informing them of infected people. The messages included every detail of the people's travel history.
Well, Moscow is also keeping up with global trends: the BBC reported that the police, using a smart video surveillance system (180 cameras), identified 200 violators of the self-isolation regime.
From The Internet of Things: The Future Is Here by Samuel Greengard:
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Department of Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering, led by Associate Professor Ruben Juanes, is using smartphones and crowdsourcing to better understand the role that the top 40 US airports play in the spread of infectious diseases. This project will help determine what measures are needed to contain an infectious disease in a certain geographical area and what decisions should be made at the level of the Ministry of Health regarding vaccination or treatment in the early stages of the disease.
In order to predict the rate of infection, Juanes and his colleagues study how individuals travel, the geographical location of airports, the difference in the interaction of airports, the waiting time at each of them. To build a working algorithm for this new project, Juanes, as a geophysicist, used studies of fluid flow through a network of fractures in rock. In addition, his group is taking data from mobile phones to understand patterns of people's movements. The end result, according to Juanes, will be "a model that is very different from the usual diffusion model." Without the Internet of Things, none of this would be possible.
Privacy issues
New monitoring and control tools that are being actively tested by the authorities of different countries cannot but cause concern. The safety of information, confidential data will always be a headache for society.
Now medical applications require users to register under their name, phone number, and enter movement data. Chinese hospitals and transport companies are required to provide detailed information about their customers to the authorities. People worry that the authorities may be using the health crisis to roll out a global control system: for example, the New York Times reports that the Alipay app may be leaking all the data to the Chinese police.
The issue of cybersecurity also remains open. 360 Security recently confirmed that hackers used files named COVID-19 to launch APT attacks on Chinese medical facilities. Attackers attach Excel files to emails, which, when opened, install a backdoor program on the victim's computer.
And finally, what can you use on your own to protect yourself?
- Smart air purifiers. There are a lot of them, they, alas, are not cheap (from 15 to 150 thousand rubles). , for example, you can see a selection of cleaners.
- Smart bracelet (medical, not sports). Ideal for those who panic a lot - you can distribute to relatives and measure the temperature, pulse and pressure every minute.
- Smart bracelet that shocks (Pavlok). Our favorite device! The operation algorithm is simple - the user himself decides what to punish him for (for smoking, for sleeping after 10 am, etc.) By the way, you can transfer the "button" of punishment to the authorities. So: I didnβt wash my hands - a discharge; I didnβt put on a mask - a discharge. Have fun - I don't want to. The discharge strength is adjustable from 17 to 340 volts.
Source: habr.com