Hacking coronavirus with technology

Covid-19: Hacking coronavirus with technology

Hacking coronavirus with technology

Technology will undoubtedly be crucial in the fight against Covid-19. India, thus, needs to quickly identify workable solutions from among those proposed by tech companies, and aspiring techpreneurs. Given hackathons are a ready tool to do this, the government did well to organise a two-day hackathon on April 3-5. An estimated 2,000 teams participated in this. The winning teams include Big Bang Boom, which designed a remotely operable ventilator system built from consumer durable components. The team aims to create an inexpensive DIY kit that could be set up in primary healthcare centres (PHCs) across the country with little oversight.

Another startup, Team 132, had developed a UV disinfectant robot that can autonomously disinfect surfaces using UV light. A hardware company, Vincence, showcased a Rs 27,000 device to monitor oxygen levels and pulse rate. Another team, 118, had developed a device that could be linked to a computer to analyse shortness of breath, a symptom of Covid-19 disease. App developers also had some interesting solutions. R-TNT’s test management centre handles supply-chain functions for testing facilities, from consumer requests to placing orders for testing kits. Researchers from Brown, and Stanford developed a labelling app, wherein the unemployed can earn money assigning labels for products to be categorised online. Another team developed an AI platform that assess patients’ medical needs, and connects them to doctors and radiologists.