THE WORLD OF NO TOUCH

One of the buzzwords as a result of the Covid-19 crisis has been “No Touch”. Thanks to social distancing, we are supposed to stay away from each other during a pandemic and there are a host of tools that can make this happen

- Sunil Rajguru

Internet of Things: IoT devices are small, unobtrusive and can be embedded in almost anything. They could be in your watch, TV, fridge or washing machine. They could be spread across roads and traffic signals. They could be in pumps and tractors in the rural areas. They could be in remote equipment where it is difficult for workers to reach.

They sit quietly and collect data and send it to wherever required 24X7 throughout the year. They require very little maintenance and most of us don’t even notice them. There are already more IoT devices than there are humans and there could be half a trillion by 2030, at least according to some estimates.

Robots: Actual robots can be receptionists in hotels or hospital or do the preliminary checking at the entrance of airports and train-bus stations. They can be used for assistance in offices and around in hospitals. VR powered robots are stacking store shelves in Japan. Police are experimenting with robotic dogs to break into homes in the US. They are getting better, more flexible and more sophisticated. Some are even getting better using Machine Learning. Robots can be used in war zones for heavy lifting or even companionship at home. Let’s see what kind of fillipCovid gives to them.