The latest podcast from Electronic Specifier Insights looks at how the electronics industry is using the latest technology to fight back against COVID-19. Click the link below to listen.
In this period of uncertainty and even fear, it’s perhaps easy to get caught up in the myriad of negative headlines, and worst-case scenario outlooks. And not without good reason. Humanity is facing its greatest peace time crisis in several centuries. And when it’s all over, society as we know it is unlikely to ever be the quite the same, with a clear dividing timeline between BC (Before COVID-19), and AC (After COVID-19).
However, always keen to look on the bright side of life here at Electronic Specifier, it’s here that technology is picking up the gauntlet. In the early responses to the outbreak in China, the country quickly leveraged the expertise of its strong technology, AI, and data sciences sectors, while its tech companies accelerated their healthcare initiatives.
We should not forget that it’s not all doom and gloom and there are still some good news stories that need to be told. We all know that adversity breads innovation and technology is at the vanguard of the battle against COVID-19, whether it be using AI to help diagnose the virus, to deploying drones to deliver medical supplies, and this podcast aims to champion just some of those goodwill missions.
Just this week Anglia Components has announced the formation of a COVID task force to coordinate and allocate available inventory and FAE resources to support customers designing or manufacturing ventilators and other vital medical equipment.
Anglia CEO Steve Rawlins stressed that the company is doing everything they can to get the design and production of essential medical equipment ramped up as quickly as possible, giving NHS staff the tools that they need to save lives. In addition, Rawlins added that in order to make sure these enquiries receive high priority, the task force can direct Anglia’s FAE technical support and reserve any available inventory for these projects before an order is received – something the company would never do under normal circumstances.
Listen to the full podcast below.
Hello, my name is Joe Bush, I’m the managing editor at Electronic Specifier and welcome to today’s podcast from Electronic Specifier Insights.
In this period of uncertainty and even fear, it’s perhaps easy to get caught up in the myriad of negative headlines, and worst-case scenario outlooks. And not without good reason. Humanity is facing its greatest peace time crisis in several centuries. And when it’s all over, society as we know it is unlikely to ever be the quite the same, with a clear dividing timeline between BC (Before COVID-19), and AC (After COVID-19).
However, always keen to look on the bright side of life here at Electronic Specifier, it’s here that technology is picking up the gauntlet. In the early responses to the outbreak in China, the country quickly leveraged the expertise of its strong technology, AI, and data sciences sectors, while its tech companies accelerated their healthcare initiatives.
We should not forget that it’s not all doom and gloom and there are still some good news stories that need to be told. We all know that adversity breads innovation and technology is at the vanguard of the battle against COVID-19, whether it be using AI to help diagnose the virus, to deploying drones to deliver medical supplies, and this podcast aims to champion just some of those goodwill missions.
Just this week Anglia Components has announced the formation of a COVID task force to coordinate and allocate available inventory and FAE resources to support customers designing or manufacturing ventilators and other vital medical equipment.
Anglia CEO Steve Rawlins stressed that the company is doing everything they can to get the design and production of essential medical equipment ramped up as quickly as possible, giving NHS staff the tools that they need to save lives. In addition, Rawlins added that in order to make sure these enquiries receive high priority, the task force can direct Anglia’s FAE technical support and reserve any available inventory for these projects before an order is received – something the company would never do under normal circumstances.
Staying with the distribution channel, Digi-Key have announced that, following numerous customer requests, it has established an online scheduling services for its European customers, which will provide the convenience to plan and place orders up to six months out, in their local currency. Ian Wallace, Director, EMEA Business Development at Digi-Key Electronics, highlighted that the company has seen a significant number of contract manufacturers, OEMs and other customers return to Digi-Key for quantities above and beyond that of their normal engineering or prototypes, and that Digi-Key’s new online scheduling will help to manage the planning and deliveries for these customers.
The strain placed on medical facilities and hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak has been well documented. In response, initiatives have been launched all over the world to help with the rapid development and production of such equipment. However, the truth is that many are struggling to access the funds and manufacturing capacity required to act quickly.
In order to increase accessibility to this crucial equipment, Netherlands-based 3D Hubs has launched the COVID-19 Manufacturing Fund, connecting these projects with both the funds and means of production they need to rapidly produce vital equipment such as protective masks and ventilator parts.
Thanks to its global network of manufacturing partners, 3D Hubs is well positioned to offer such projects access to a virtually unlimited manufacturing capacity that is able to sustain the rapid production of parts. Providing access to various manufacturing technologies including 3D printing, injection moulding and CNC machining, this capacity and speed is vital to producing parts in this time of crisis.
Getting more hands-on Sheffield-based AMETEK has released a fever screening thermal imaging system designed for highly accurate human body temperature measurement. The vIRalert 2 fixed thermal imaging system provides an accurate and remote surface measurement of body temperature, automatically alerting the operator to elevated temperatures which could prove key in COVID-19 diagnosis.
The vIRalert 2 provides an accurate and remote surface measurement of body temperature, automatically alerting the operator to elevated temperatures.
In addition, David Primhak, Director of Development and Product Management at AMETEK, explained that vIRalert 2 can detect fever at point-of-entry quickly and remotely, in compliance with the current social distancing requirements, preventing the risk of infection being transmitted between the operator and members of the public.
Similarly, China has been using 5G patrol robots developed using Advantech technology to monitor mask wearing and body temperatures in public places.Because the manual measurement of body temperature exposes public safety personnel to potential health risks, these robots are equipped with five high-resolution cameras and infrared thermometers capable of scanning the temperature of ten people simultaneously within a radius of five metres.
Moreover, although these robots are self-driving machines, they can also be controlled remotely, thereby saving manpower by reducing patrolling responsibilities and preventing cross-infection. It's no surprise then that these next-generation 5G patrol robots have already been spotted at airports and shopping malls in the cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Xi'an.
On the diagnosis side of the coin Kent-based medical device manufacturer, Bedfont Scientific believes its NObreath FeNO monitor could help. An objective test for airway inflammation the monitor could theoretically be used to screen patients or office workers routinely, or those suspected to have COVID-19. Increasing FeNO (or Fractional Exhaled nitric oxide) levels can be an early indicator as the infection occurs in the upper respiratory tract and can lead to respiratory conditions such as pneumonia, which causes inflammation.
NObreath testing is non-invasive and crucially, the monitor is portable, which means testing can be performed by healthcare professionals at home. The NObreath mouthpieces have been tested by Public Health England, and are proven to remove and trap 96.8% and 95% of airborne bacteria and viruses respectively.
Over in the US, Stratasys has announced the global mobilisation of the company’s 3D printing resources and expertise, with donated printing capacity across all regions. The initial focus is on providing thousands of disposable face shields for use by medical personnel.
At the time of broadcast, Stratasys has produced over 5,000 face shields, at no cost to the recipients. This includes both a 3D-printed frame and a clear plastic shield that covers the entire face. To give this some kind of perspective, one of the leading hospitals in the US has told Stratasys they use over 1,500 disposable face shields every week, even without the surge created by COVID-19, and is currently down to six days’ worth of inventory.
Company CEO, Yoav Zeif, commented that the be anywhere, print anything, adapt on the fly strengths of 3D printing make it a key technology for helping address shortages of parts related to shields, masks, and ventilators. He also added that the company workforce and partners are prepared to work around the clock to meet the need for 3D printers and materials.
As I mentioned earlier, life after COVID, is unlikely to be quite the same, and even when we do all go back to normality, there will inevitably be systems and solutions in place to mitigate the possibility of this and other outbreaks resurfacing both in the short and long term.
To this end the installation of Smart Coronavirus CCTV cameras are being investigated for use in large office buildings. The CCTV cameras have a built-in temperature sensor which relays data back to the building’s security personnel to help isolate those with a higher than normal temperature – a key sign of Coronavirus.
Jonathan Ratcliffe from Offices.co.uk stated that automating the detection process is the best form of defence to protect against large offices being shut down completely, and he added that we will almost certainly see this technology used in large banks and financial institutions in the City.
The biggest impact of coronavirus for businesses and workers, and one which we can all obviously related to now, is the issue of self-isolation and having to work remotely.
This is clearly a bigger deal for some businesses than others, and Glasgow-based Percepto has underlined that the coronavirus has exposed the soft underbelly of critical infrastructure and industrial sites worldwide – that being workforce availability. As more and more companies are being forced to implement business continuity plans to deal with the outbreak, fewer and fewer employees are able to fully function.
In Western Australia, for example, the coronavirus is potentially affecting some 60,000 fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) workers at remote mine sites and onshore and offshore oil and gas plants. And this challenge is compounded by a flagging demand for commodities as global industries and economies slow down or in some cases, even grind to a halt.
This is leading many companies to rethink the role that autonomous technology – and specifically autonomous drones – can and should be playing in their operations. Autonomous drones are an essential part of the contingency plans that support business continuity – they are always available, even if operators are under quarantine, and can help alleviate the challenges associated with volatile market trends and workforce availability.
Moreover, autonomous drones can be controlled remotely, from anywhere in the world. This means that – as long as companies have suitable regulatory permits – employees can work from home yet operate autonomous drones as if they were on-site.
It’s clear that as unprecedented as these times are, humanity has never been as well equipped to cope with such a crisis, and I’ve mentioned just a handful of the initiatives, technologies and solutions that are being rapidly deployed all over the globe to tackle the coronavirus outbreak on the frontline.
Technology is at the forefront of our lives; from the way we power and run our homes and businesses, to the cars we drive and to the methods we use to communicate with each other. It rings true then that technology is playing an equally integral role in the battle against a global pandemic.
Thanks for listening and be sure to tune in for the next Electronic Specifier Insight podcast. You can keep up to date with all the latest information and news relating to the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on the electronics sector (and how technology is fighting back), at www.electronicspecifer.com