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MARKET & TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Even Technology Can’t Eliminate Fear

of the Covid-19 Unknown

By Nitin Dahad
’ve always been a technophile and have would be able to take swift action. After all,
always embraced new technology. From everything I had read so far suggested you
my first Sinclair ZX80, with its tape deck to needed to watch for fever and make sure your
Iload programs and games and its ther- oxygen levels were stable. If those were not
mal printer, to the latest iPhone 12, I like to maintained within normal ranges, it was a
understand what new gadgets are capable of. sign that you’d end up as one of the statistics
And since I began writing about technology in in the hospital.
the mid-1980s, I’ve also sought to understand In the internet-of-things age, we might call
how technology can impact and enhance real- this monitoring “predictive maintenance” —
life environments. in other words, taking a specific corrective
When we recently replaced our family action when a data trend doesn’t look right.
car with a new Honda, I was fascinated with In the health-care world, remote monitoring
the ADAS systems, like lane-keep assist and of patient data is possible.
active braking, that came as standard. I was So, armed with the iHealth non-contact
like a kid in a sweet shop trying everything thermometer I purchased last summer (which
out. I searched all around the car, inside and visually looks like it might have come from
outside, to figure out where all the sensors the Apple stable) plus a decent oximeter, I
and cameras were. I can report that the thought we were well-equipped to monitor
our fevers and oxygen levels. Being armed
Our routine of self- with the right tools and a little knowledge
brought out the medical practitioner and the
monitoring multiple times a data scientist in me — albeit an amateur one,
day ensured that we could with no qualifications aside from an engineer-
ing degree.
Our routine of self-monitoring multiple
spot any trends and helped us times a day ensured that we could spot any
call out to emergency services trends. It also helped us call out to emergency
a couple of times when services a couple of times when something
wasn’t improving. My biggest fear for both of
something wasn’t improving. us was that we’d be admitted to the hospital
and then end up in one of those body bags
that await the worst-affected victims of the
lane-keep–assist feature is pretty effective — virus, as the news media around the world The U.K. official test-and-trace app uses
though I dare not take my hands off the wheel constantly remind us. anonymized tokens and Bluetooth to alert
too long, for fear of the software errors I wrote With this fear as the driving factor in my people to self-isolate after they’ve tested
about last year. Even the driver-monitoring mind, my aim was always to identify some- positive for Covid-19 or have been in
system (DMS) that comes as standard seems thing before the virus got a chance to make proximity to someone who has the virus.
quite impressive — though probably oversen- us worse. Even when my oxygen level was low (Source: Nitin Dahad)
sitive at times. and I was advised to be taken to the hospital
While we’ve got all this helpful technology emergency unit by the clinicians in the call was it in policing those who had the virus? If I
all around us, there is one area of concern for center, I was determined to figure out a way ventured out (although I was in no condition
me: I’m wondering about how much technol- of avoiding a hospital visit. A desperate call to get up from my bed), would the app alert
ogy is really helping us in the fight against to a doctor friend solved that momentary the authorities? Remember the infamous
Covid-19. While a handful of countries have dilemma; he told me that if I tried walking up “2319” child-detection alert in “Monsters,
used technology effectively to keep the spread and down the stairs and my oxygen level came Inc.”? Maybe the Bluetooth-based test-and-
in check and to keep case numbers and deaths back up, then I could possibly avoid going trace app would trigger something similar
down, I think the fear of the unknown about to the hospital for oxygen. So I made the around the 10-meter vicinity of the violator.
the virus in most countries is a challenge that attempt to force myself out of bed and make Sadly, that is not the case. Because we as
even technology is failing to conquer, despite a couple of rounds on the stairs. Thankfully, a society are so protective of our privacy —
many advances in social-distancing technol- the oximeter reading showed a very slight despite being willing to display all our personal
ogies and medical advances in everything improvement, so I decided that I was probably data on social media for any advertiser to mine
from robot nurses to Bluetooth wireless OK to continue recovery at home. — no identifiable data is transmitted by the
stethoscopes. Being incapacitated for nearly 10 days app. That’s a good thing, I guess. But maybe
When the virus hit our household during didn’t stop my engineering training to anonymized tokens could at least be used to
Christmastime, I thought I was in possession understand how technology could be used to discourage people from violating isolation
of the gadgets needed to keep on top of things conquer the virus. My first thought was about rules. That would surely stop the spread, given
so that if our conditions deteriorated, we the official test-and-trace app. How effective that the U.K. has been talking about a 70%

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