Technology Trends in the COVID-19 Pandemic
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The previous article highlighted trends in information technology change with quick adoption and rejection, often seen almost overnight. This article provides insight into some trends that have gained traction during the 2020 COVID-19 global pandemic due to their ability to bolster societal resilience. Did these trends affect your COVID-19 experience? What other trends do you see growing out of this time that will be here to stay?
9. Robotics and Drones
COVID-19 makes the world realize how heavily we rely on human interactions to make things work. Labor intensive businesses, such as retail, food, manufacturing, and logistics are the worst hit.
COVID-19 provided a strong push to rollout the usage of robots and research on robotics. In recent weeks, robots have been used to disinfect areas and to deliver food to those in quarantine. Drones have walked dogs and delivered items.
A robot helps doctors treat COVID-19 patients in hard-hit Italy.
While there are some reports that predict many manufacturing jobs will be replaced by robots in the future, at the same time, new jobs will be created in the process. Policies must be in place to provide sufficient training and social welfare to the labour force to embrace the change.