Technical innovations and changes in the world of technology that appeared.

The epidemic has irreversibly affected the world economy and every person in particular: our life will never be the same. But is it fair to say that quarantine has brought us only troubles and troubles, or is there still advantages in the fact that mankind had to reorient itself so quickly and change the track of development? Let's figure out what technological innovations and services have arisen and spread due to the virus.

Infection risk monitoring applications

Such services track a person's movements, record his last contacts and calculate the risks of getting infected in a specific place. China was expected to be the leader in such developments: the popular WeChat messenger and the Alipay payment system quickly received additional functionality. In WeChat, you can see in real time at what distance from the user cases of COVID-19 infection have been recorded, as well as receive notifications about the risk of infection, marking recently visited places on the map or those where a trip is just planned. Alipay is actively used throughout the country: a person is assigned a personal QR code, where his health status and recent contacts are recorded. The development of such applications was carried out in many countries at the state level: for example, in Italy, for example, the Immuni service appeared, in Australia - COVIDSafe.

Robotization wherever possible

In China, the epidemiological situation has led to the active introduction of courier robots that deliver food and medicine. Contactless food delivery using robots was organized by the Meituan Dianping platform, and the Chinese police actively use drones to track and warn quarantine violators. For disinfection of hospital premises and public places, robotic disinfectants are actively used, which move autonomously, like robotic vacuum cleaners. They mainly use disinfectant spraying technologies or ultraviolet radiation.

Artificial intelligence at the service of medicine

BenevolentAI's artificial intelligence systems are actively analyzing already known drugs for their effectiveness in treating coronavirus. The neural network, developed by the Chinese company Alibaba, analyzes computed tomography scans of patients' lungs to quickly and accurately distinguish pneumonia caused by COVID from any other. Microsoft's collaboration with major research institutes in America has led to the development of CORD-19 Explorer, a search engine based on current scientific literature about the coronavirus. Artificial intelligence will enable better comparisons of growing pandemic data by analyzing studies from different countries.

Remote work, education and medicine

Remote translation forced many to change the approach to work: tools for work conferences (Zoom, Skype, Slack) became popular. Remote learning led to a rethinking of the traditional system and the introduction of new technologies: for example, a math teacher conducted a virtual lesson in the shooter Half Life: Alyx, applying the principles of gamification in education. Also, during the pandemic, the demand for telemedicine services increased sharply - online consultations with doctors of various profiles. Insurance companies abroad and in Russia quickly reacted to the trend, so now telemedicine has become a popular option.

Virtual concerts and cinemas

Self-isolation has triggered the expected rise in popularity of various streaming services, online cinemas and, of course, multiplayer games. Large-scale music events were canceled due to the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. However, alternative solutions were found here too: some performers began to arrange live concerts inside multiplayer games. In May, the Block by Blockwest festival became widely known, where guest musicians performed in Minecraft. Travis Scott's Fortnite concert was a real technological breakthrough and just a highlight. Simultaneously, more than 12 million players watched an impressive performance in real time without losing the ability to interact with the game world.