4-ways IoT silently fought Covid-19 [2020]

While the world was busy preparing for potential war, food shortage, climate change, and probably a meteor strike, we were hit by something we never saw coming.

Well, it's not like we can see it now, but a virus, a God Damn Virus. Like seriously! And why did it had to be 2020? I was supposed to be a graduate by March but its August! I am still an undergrad.

As much as this pisses me off, Covid-19 has ruined 2020 for everybody. Frustrations aside, 2020 was supposed to be a great year. This not only applies to me but for almost everybody. Given the rate of growth, we saw in 2019, particularly in the tech industry, this year had a lot of expectations. But expectations don't always turn into reality.

China being the manufacturing hub of the globe, was the first country affected by Covid-19. This not only did a great deal of damage to the Chinese economy but literally stopped the world from moving. Then comes the UK, the ones with the strongest healthcare infrastructure and then the USA, the hub of IT i.e. Silicon Valley.

Long story short, 3 months in 2020, and everything except the earth itself stopped. And every sector went on the mercy of Mr. COVID. Talk about influence!

Well amongst all these, there is one sector that never got affected and possibly never will i.e the IoT sector. The IoT sector is prone to a lot of things however there is one thing that keeps it universal and that is the existence of the Internet.

As long as humanity has the internet, it has the Internet of Things. And given the future implementation of Edge computing in IoT, even the internet won't hold much. So until unless humanity really hit the primitive age, IoT will Exist!

Now, amidst this pandemic where everything failed, IoT proved its worth. While the world was busy cutting connections, IoT established new pathways. When contact became the principle of the problem, IoT became the solution. I can literally go on boasting about IoT all day, but nothing works better than practical applications.

So here are some frontline examples of the application of IoT in conquering the pandemic.

How the Government implemented IoT against COVID-19?

If there was one thing that was supposed to be normal about the pandemic was panic. The panic that we never saw. While China was putting in every resource to stop the growth, we were busy acting ignorant because why not, it was just the flu, right?

Well, sure it was; but the way it affected our life totally changed our take on life and death. The way it over-burdened our entire Healthcare infrastructure was something unprecedented. It was the time when governments realized how vulnerable things could be.

So, while governments were initiating lock-downs, marking contaminated/non-contaminated zones, and creating new rules and regulations, they needed a way to monitor proper implementations. This is where IoT played an important role.

By using different types of IoT devices, our governments were able to efficiently implement new regulations and monitor daily progress. Drones were used to keep overwatch, deliver food and necessary items, whereas robots were used to eliminate direct contacts. AI also played an important role in providing active data monitoring.

IoT devices were developed to maintain social distancing, avoid physical contacts, monitor temperatures, provide guidelines, and gather data through multiple sources including your smartwatches. Hence, by implementing IoT tech, we were able to reduce the requirement of manpower, increase efficiency, and decrease the spread of COVID-19.

Thanks to which when faced with the pandemic, countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam were able to provide the best global responses.

IoT against Covid-19 in Healthcare

IoT in general has a very big scope in the Healthcare Industry. It is one of those sectors that constantly need technological advancement, may it be in medical science or tech itself. So when pandemic came knocking the door and the whole infrastructure got over-burdened to the point of collapse, the need for tech introduced a new peak.

One of the biggest reasons was the lack of ability to cater to new patients while taking care of existing ones. Having less equipment was one thing but handling both COVID patients and general ones couldn't possibly go hand in hand.

To overcome the burden, Healthcare implemented IoT all the way through, from R&D to weekly appointments.

Research and Development companies started implementing AR to understand the DNA structure of viruses, running simulations using AI, and understand the working of the Virus and how it causes damage. R&D companies can also easily access data provided by Hospitals all across the world thanks to IoT and Cloud Computing.

Similarly, Hospitals started using Robots to avoid direct contact with patients, use of AI for active patient monitoring, and wearable devices for gathering data. A wide-scale of IoT devices was also implemented in the public areas to keep physical contact as less as possible.

IoT also helped doctors and physicians to keep a balance between newly infected patients and existing ones. By using IoT devices they can keep track of their patients, access related data over the cloud, handle online appointments, and also provide emergency guidelines in case of need.

A company name Atrium introduced an "At home care program" which implements a remote health care monitoring system designed to take care of novel coronavirus patients who don't need intensive care but do need close monitoring.

IoT against Covid-19 in Manufacturing

When COVID-19 overburdened the Healthcare sector, it unburdened the Industrial sector. This was something that even the great depression could not manage. As lockdown became inevitable and toilet papers became important. Demand for daily products hit a new hike while the rest of the industry went blank.

After the initiation of lockdown, the only operating industries left were either related to food, daily necessities, or medical supplies. While the rest of the industry shutdown, these sectors still had to fulfill the increased demand with even less manpower.

So when the workforce was reduced, automation had to be introduced. Manufacturers from all over the globe started automating their production lines with robotics and AI. These not only reduced the requirement for manpower but also provided absolute control over the whole system.

Once the factories were automated, supply chain management became even more accessible. From production to delivery, everything could be monitored with the help of IoT devices. Thus, the data gathered could be seen on one or multiple screens at the same time. This not only boosted efficiency on the institutional level but also reduced the risk of mismanagement and coped with the lack of abilities.

IoT not only solved workforce issues but also solved innovation problems. Since technology is universal, its application is universal by nature. That is, IoT allows you to copy a solution for problems you are facing without investing in individual innovation.

Even without COVID-19, the application of IIoT in Industries has always been the future of Manufacturing.

IoT against Covid-19 in Daily Life

The very first thing COVID ever disturbed was our usual life. From living in the open world to restricting ourselves between 4 walls, it totally changed our daily standards. Standards that have mandatory requirements for keeping distance and avoiding physical contacts.

Now, living at home is one thing, but following these standards and continuing your daily life is a different story. This is where IoT stepped in.

Manufacturers from all around the globe came up with multiple IoT solutions to maintain social distance and increase accessibility. Companies like Equivital came up with a social distancing solution based on proximity sensors to help maintain a 2M distance.

Devices like IoT thermometers are also widely used to record multiple body temperature and pin-point possible infected people to keep public places safe. Phone-based applications have also been introduced to notify you about sealed areas or regions with most affected people.

Public places particularly are also equipped with automatic dispensers, proximity sensors, and AI-based devices to maintain social distance and reduce physical contact. All in all, IoT in general has already became an integral part of our new daily life.

At last

With the implementation of IoT, fight against COVID-19 has become a lot easier while the tech around us has become a lot smarter. The application of IoT sure has been seen at a lot of places but it is still not enough for the world. And, given the current requirements, IoT will definitely keep on expanding to help us fight this pandemic.