[Digital Transformation Vision] Artificial intelligence takes off in the post-epidemic era

Looking around the world, the epidemic is still raging in some areas, and epidemic prevention has become our new daily routine. Against this backdrop, what other application prospects of artificial intelligence are worthy of attention?

In the fight against the novel coronavirus, the most direct application of artificial intelligence technology is still concentrated in the medical field. Specifically, it is the accelerated launch of big data platforms and intelligent robots.

In the early stages of the outbreak, big data technology had already begun to play its role: people used web crawler technology, natural language processing, etc. to continuously collect and analyze news reports, comments, and search engine indexes about diseases and major public health events around the world, and used this information to predict the outbreak of infectious diseases.

After the outbreak, this type of technology was mostly used for Epidemic situation awareness and trend prediction: Google released a set of COVID-19 public prediction models, which use a new time series machine learning method to provide predictions of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and other indicators in the United States in the next 14 days, and further predict the required protection needs based on these indicators, providing a basis for public health departments to make decisions.

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The big data platform has become a powerful support for rear-line command, while intelligent robots have become a powerful assistant in front-line combat. During the epidemic, front-line personnel faced the pressure of extremely high-intensity work, and human and material resources in various places were once tight. The addition of intelligent robots has significantly improved this situation.

Among them are the guide robots we are familiar with, which can provide some basic medical services to patients, such as medical Q&A, simple care, temperature detection, medicine delivery, etc.

There are also some robots serving hospitals and medical staff. Some of them travel through isolation areas and are responsible for delivering meals to people in the isolation areas; some are used for intelligent medical guidance, leading patients for preliminary diagnosis and treatment; some can be programmed to automatically spray disinfectants according to preset maps and routes; some have begun to undertake inspection work and can automatically identify the wearing of masks and abnormal body temperature, further ensuring the safety of people in the hospital.

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These intelligent robots have become powerful assistants to frontline medical staff, working together with medical staff to stick to their posts. They not only alleviate the work pressure on the front lines, but also reduce the probability of cross-infection from contact with patients, thereby reducing the risk of transmission and becoming an intelligent safety line of defense.

The impact of artificial intelligence technology is multi-faceted. In addition to the medical field, many other public service projects are also gradually becoming intelligent and penetrating into our lives.

After the domestic epidemic situation stabilized, shopping malls, subways and other public places were gradually opened. In order to prevent and control the epidemic, a lot of screening work still needs to be done in normal times. The traditional screening method is not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also brings safety hazards to the staff. Therefore, we have seen non-contact temperature measurement equipment systems in more and more places.

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Thanks to the progress of biometric technology, temperature-sensing cameras are becoming more and more complete. Combined with functions such as face recognition, they can quickly collect identity information and body temperature information, and transmit it to the disease control management department in real time. Once an abnormality is found, an early warning can be issued immediately. The current intelligent temperature measurement system can complete the work within 1 second, allowing you to complete the test without knowing it, and no longer have to queue at the platform.

In the process of resuming work and production, there is also room for artificial intelligence to play. In some large industrial parks, unmanned vehicles have begun to be widely used to complete some tasks. For example, the disinfection and cleaning of the park is different from the way in hospitals where routes can be preset. The unmanned vehicles in these industrial parks emphasize adaptability and are equipped with more autonomous driving kits, which can better complete a wide range of tasks.

Back in the office building, maintaining social distance depends on the role of intelligent positioning and detection equipment . These devices are generally quite sophisticated and can be worn on the body or hidden in the work badge. They use ultrasonic technology to accurately locate and measure distance, and remind the wearer to keep a healthy distance in time.

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The introduction of these new technologies has facilitated personnel management in society and enterprises, provided new safeguards for subsequent epidemic prevention and control, greatly reduced the risk of disease transmission, and can better protect each of us to return to work and resume a stable life as soon as possible.

Years of technological accumulation and the social needs of the epidemic have accelerated the large-scale application of artificial intelligence, and the related scientific and technological concepts will be more deeply rooted in people's hearts. It can be foreseen that after the epidemic, the application of artificial intelligence technology will continue to expand, and it will be more deeply integrated with various fields of society, becoming an important part of our future life.