Ladies and getlemen,

 

It is an honour to participate at “2022·China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights”. Let’s start my analysis with the technology’s role after the pandemic.

 

Pandemics left a tremendous effect in our lives both socially and economically. Over the past hundred years, world has seen quite some deadly pandemics. Although, COVID-19 is the newest of its kind but relating to the past pandemics and how peoplenbenefited at that time by technology can be a great guide in current scenario. A few successful solutions deployed in past pandemics are discussed in this analysis.

 

Examining the technology and related systems that are helpful in the disease identification, limiting disease spread, and disease prevention is of paramount importance. Different new age technologies can be adopted by the government as an initial response strategy. This analysis mainly focuses on the use of the Internet of Things (IoT), Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), and other smart emerging technologies like drones, robots, autonomous vehicles (AVs), Bluetooth, and global positioning system (GPS), which can be helpful in handling this pandemic.

 

IoT is a promising technology of interconnected computing devices, transmitting data over the network without any human intervention. In the recent times, IoMT has captivated major attention from the field of healthcare. It is a blend of medical devices and software applications connected to healthcare IT systems.

 

In the current critical scenario of COVID-19, the most significant issue after the development of vaccine is an efficient way of reachability to the patients. This can be best done by using the concept of IoT.

 

Drones, robots, and AVs technology not only ensure minimum human interaction but also can be beneficial to access contagious COVID-19 patients.

 

Wearables, making use of the Bluetooth and GPS technology, is another efficient way to monitor individual’s health and their day-to-day stress levels in isolation. Altogether, these technologies can add a consequential share in the new paradigm of Tele Medicine, either for prevention of disease or identification and monitoring of the masses, paramedical staff, symptomatic, and asymptomatic COVID positives during the pandemic.

 

 

Drones as telemedicine and transfer units Drones can be used to facilitate access to medical care in demoted communities. Demoted communities lack infrastructure and proper transportation. Therefore, drones are particularly helpful in such communities to help in the delivery of necessary health services and supplies in a time-effective manner. Drones travel faster than any manned vehicle and hence can overcome topographic challenges that would be very challenging to overcome by other forms of transportation.

 

 

Unmanned vehicles are without involvement of any human driver aboard. They can cover far-flung and difficult areas, impossible by any human driven vehicle. As compared to traditional vehicles, they have additional features of high safety, reliability, intelligence, and efficiency because of small size.

 

These vehicles can either be remote-controlled, remote-guided vehicles or autonomous, which are capable of sensing and navigating on their own. These autonomous driverless vehicles work according to the paths defined by installed sensors to sense surrounding environment or obstacles on the way with the help of intelligent software. The destination is fed by the software installed in these vehicles or at control station.

 

The vehicle and equipment that operate with little or no operator intervention are always an attraction because they save the labor cost in commercial areas and remove the direct involvement of operator specifically during dangerous applications. During the disaster or any global health crisis like COVID-19 pandemic, AVs can be of great help. They can ease the stress on existing delivery mechanisms while mitigating the spread of virus spread. During 2016, a company JD.com, an e-commerce company, began testing the country’s first developed self-driving vehicle for domestic usage. The other companies in market soon joined this race to compete each other. During the pandemic, China led the charge in the use of AVs. Beijing-headquartered White Rhino Auto Company, in alliance with UNIDO’s Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO), dispatched two autonomous delivery vehicles from Beijing to the Guanggu Field Hospital in the Hubei Province of China.

 

These UVs proved to be very useful during pandemic; hence, they can serve in various ways. These tasks may include delivering medical supplies within hospitals, distributing meals and medicines in isolation centers, on demand groceries delivery home-to-home during lockdowns, decontaminate infected surroundings, awareness announcements in large gatherings, and much more.

 

The current pandemic has drastically affected every aspect of our life. It has changed peoples’ way of viewing different things. The whole world is on the lookout for best alternates of the available technological solutions. All the technologies discussed in this chapter are for prevention, mitigation, and restoration from aftermath of the disease spread.

 

IoMT has made a sizeable contribution in current pandemic. It is a promising technology that has shown potential in the collection, analysis, and effective transmission of health data to the concerned departments. Therefore, it is a choice of preference to be deployed for disease monitoring and management during this deadly pandemic. Drones have changed the entire concept of how things are delivered.

 

Similarly, robots are replacing humans. UMVs are approaching to places where traditional man driven vehicles are unable to reach. Bluetooth and GPS are being deployed to look out for disease carriers in the surroundings.

 

IoMT, drones, and robots have joined hands together for the advancement of telemedicine field, which can be used for spreading limited clinical resources across a wide geographic area. It improves quality of care and access during the ongoing pandemic. All these technologies are on the way of maturing to help us fight against the deadliest pandemics.

 

 

Let’s now analyze a case study of the application of new technologies in the management of an event of international importance such as the recent Winter Olympics in Beijing.

 

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games used robots as part of its epidemic prevention and control measures, with robotic services set to be made available in nine different scenarios, including in accommodation, award presentation ceremonies, mobile vending, the delivery of goods and food items, the delivery of room services, the transport of medical equipment, providing guide and translation services, and patrol services, among other services.

 

 

The anti-epidemic robot is a smart terminal that will be placed at the entranceways of competition areas. After scanning staff members' QR codes, the checkpoint will send the health, vaccination and travel records of the staff members to the terminal. It takes only two seconds for a staff member to pass through the checkpoint.

 

 

The temperature measuring robot can approach people and take their body temperatures. When it detects an abnormal body temperature, the robot will tell the person about this status and then report the situation to epidemic prevention and control staff members.

 

 

The atomization disinfection robot can sterilize an area of 36 square meters in one minute. An ultraviolet disinfection robot will also be adopted for use to sterilize the competition areas.

 

 

The logistics robot will be used to deliver the score reports of the athletes during the competitions. Powered by laser and visual sensing technologies, it is able to flexibly avoid any obstacles.

 

Another logistics robot that works outdoors can carry 30 to 300 kg of goods. After a staff member places goods on top of the robot, it will deliver the goods to a final destination and directly unload them.

 

 

The smart restaurant in the Main Media Center for Beijing 2022 is located inside the China National Convention Center Phase II. It will provide catering services around the clock to reporters from around the world. The robots inside the smart restaurant can cook cuisines, as well as making hamburgers, ice cream, coffee, and cocktails. The food and drinks, after being made ready to order, will then be delivered to the dining tables through an installed transfer system.

 

 

Modern technology presents great utility and promise, including for human rights. The development of the Internet has widened access to knowledge, while new media platforms have given activists fast ways to organise communities and share messages at scale. Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, may significantly expand the availability and quality of data that informs policy and healthcare decisions for the benefit of society. Their proponents argue that these technologies will create new opportunities, increase efficiency, and help maximise human potential.

 

Artificial intelligence, automation, and the gig economy can free us from drudgery, enrich our leisure, and build societies of shared prosperity.

 

At the same time, rapid developments in artificial intelligence, automation, and robotics raise questions about their impacts on human rights and the future of work. Nevertheless, the extent of these impacts remains unknown.