Though advancements still need to be made, robots and A.I. could help us fight the coronavirus outbreak and save lives.
In a recent editorial published in Science Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University robotics professor Howie Choset argued that robots and artificial intelligence (AI) can be helpful during this pandemic.
He said robots could protect healthcare workers in many ways such as minimize their contact with patients to prevent themselves from being infected.
Robots could be also be used to help feed patients who cannot feed themselves, deliver food to patients who cannot leave their homes and even disinfect hospitals and other facilities to prevent the spread of the virus, Choset added.
But insufficient research funding has hindered the development of robotics technologies and limited the things that robots can do.
With AI, Choset said it could help healthcare workers better diagnose patients, better organize an emergency response and predict the spread of the virus.
He stressed the importance of funding research into technologies that can be very helpful in case of a pandemic or during an emergency.
3 KEY POINTS
- Howie Choset of Carnegie Mellon University believes that robotics and AI can be helpful in dealing with public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Robots and AI could help in a variety of ways but the developments of these technologies have been stifled by insufficient funding.
- Choset underscored the importance of adequate funding for research into modern technologies that can help us during an emergency.
“If robotics researchers were getting adequate funding, we might already have robots that can do many of the things that healthcare workers are currently doing in response to the coronavirus, which would help keep those workers safe,” says robotics professor Howie Choset.
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