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Strengthening innovation-driven inclusive and sustainable development
Asia-Pacific
Tech Monitor Vol. 37 No. 3 Jul - Sep 2020
Technological innovations to control
COVID-19 pandemic
Strategy and best practices from the Asia-Pacific
Plus
• Technology News and Events
• Tech Ventures & Opportunities
• Business Coach
The shaded areas of the map indicate ESCAP members and associate members.* The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) serves as the United Nations’regional hub promoting cooperation among countries to achieve inclusive and sustainable development. The largest regional intergovernmental platform with 53 Member States and 9 associate members, ESCAP has emerged as a strong regional think-tank offering countries sound analytical products that shed insight into the evolving economic, social and environmental dynamics of the region. The Commission’s strategic focus is to deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is reinforced and deepened by promoting regional cooperation and integration to advance responses to shared vulnerabilities, connectivity, financial cooperation and market integration. ESCAP’s research and analysis coupled with its policy advisory services, capacity building and technical assistance to governments aims to support countries’ sustainable and inclusive development ambitions. *The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries
CONTENTS
Asia-Pacific
Tech Monitor
Vol. 37 No. 3 v Jul - Sep 2020
The Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor is a quarterly
Introductory Note 2
periodical of the Asian and Pacific Centre for
Transfer of Technology (APCTT) that brings
you up-to-date information on trends in Technology Market Scan 3
technology transfer and development,
technology policies, and new products and Technology Scan: Emerging technologies
processes. The Yellow Pages feature the to fight Covid-19 8
Business Coach for innovative firms, as well as
technology offers and requests.
Special Theme: Technological innovations to control
Web: www.techmonitor.net
COVID-19 pandemic
Editorial Board
Ms. Michiko Enomoto • Digital innovations for COVI D-19 management
Dr. Satyabrata Sahu Present applications, gaps and future strategies 14
ASIAN AND PACIFIC CENTRE Suresh Munuswamy
FOR TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY
C-2, Qutab Institutional Area
• The Fourth Industrial Revolution
Post Box No. 4575 A new endless frontier 17
New Delhi 110 016, India Kalenzi Cornelius, So Young Kim, Sang Yup Lee
Tel: +91-11-3097 3700
Fax: +91-11-2685 6274 • Technological Interventions and Strategies for combating
E-mail: postmaster.apctt@un.org Covid-19 in India
Website: http://www.apctt.org An overview 24
Opinions expressed by the authors H. Purushotham, Bhavya Manjeera
are not necessarily those of APCTT.
The designation employed and
• Innovative technological interventions to respond COV
the presentation of material in the
ID-19 and Flattening the Curve
publication do not imply the Experiences of the Republic of Korea 36
endorsement of any product, process Joon-young Hur
or manufacturer by APCTT.
Tech Events 40
The contents of the Tech Monitor may be
reproduced in part or whole without change, Tech Ventures & Opportunities 41
provided that the Tech Monitor and the
authors concerned are credited as the Business Coach
source and a voucher copy of the
publication that contains the quoted • Start-up Venture Creation 42
material is sent to APCTT.
• Technology Transfer 44
This publication has been issued • Venture Financing 48
without formal editing.
• Managing Innovation 51
ISSN: 0256-9957 • Green Productivity 54
Tech Opportunities
• Technology Offers 56
Introductory note
T he year 2020 has been particularly challenging for the world due to
COVID-19. The pandemic has imposed serious challenges for coun-
tries to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
At the same time, this is the year that Science, technology and inno-
vation have demonstrated its true value by providing innovative solu-
tions to adapt, manage and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. The
potential of emerging technologies in coping up with COVID-19 and
post pandemic solutions has been endless specially for recovery of businesses, industries and
economies. These technologies, particularly the fourth industrial revolution technologies, have
helped not only in the healthcare sector but also provided adaptive solutions during lockdown
such as remote working, online learning and indoor workout platforms.
Many governments have incorporated digital technologies into their public health management
processes for facilitating coordinated containment and mitigation process. For example, in India
more than 200 various indigenous technologies were developed as solutions to fight COVID-19
within just 2-3 months. The Republic of Korea has adopted innovative operating models such
as Drive-thru and Walk-thru stations. These models helped the professionals to meet extensive
testing needs by collecting samples easier and faster than the traditional methods while re-
ducing the risk of cross infections during sample collection.
Big Data analysis which provides real-time data on COVID-19 patients has been helping officials
to streamline the data collection process and augmenting its speed and accuracy. For instance,
China has been using digital tools like migration maps, mobile phone tracking, and citizen
awareness applications to trace and track the location and activities of its population. Targeted
interventions have been subsequently made by feeding the data collected from these tools into
big data and Artificial Intelligence algorithms. In Singapore, Artificial Intelligence has been used
to identify emerging infection clusters and provide testing guidance to individuals.
This issue of Asia-Pacific Tech Monitor discusses the challenges, opportunities, strategies and best
practices to develop innovative solutions to control COVID-19 pandemic in the Asia-Pacific re-
gion. Case studies from the Republic of Korea and India are presented in this Tech Monitor issue.
Michiko Enomoto
Head, APCTT-ESCAP
Technology Market Scan
ASIA-PACIFIC CHINA Technology export control
rules
BANGLADESH R&D spending rises in 2019
People’s Republic of China authorities
China’s spending on research and devel- released updated Catalogue of China’s
Govt to establish industrial opment (R&D) hit a record high at 2.23% Export Prohibited and Restricted Technolo-
parks of its GDP in 2019, up by 0.09 percentage gies (the Catalogue), the first overhaul of
The government will set up 50 more indus- points from the previous year, data from the the guidelines in more than a decade.
trial parks on 20,000 acres of land which National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
• Based on the 2008 version of the Cata-
will create jobs for five million people by China’s total expenditure on R&D amount-
logue, the new updates involved 53
2030, said industries minister Nurul Majid ed to 2.214 trillion yuan (about 321.3 billion
technology items: 9 prohibited or
Mahmud Humayun. “BSCIC will have to U.S. dollars) last year, up 12.5%, or 246.57
restricted items were deleted; 23 re-
provide speedy, easy and real services billion yuan compared with that in 2018,
stricted items were added; the control
for the entrepreneurs from its 76 indus- according to a report jointly released by the
points and technical parameters of 21
trial estates at an affordable cost,” he said NBS, the Ministry of Science and Technol-
items were revised.
while inaugurating a virtual workshop ogy and the Ministry of Finance.
• 23 areas of innovation ranging from
for BSCIC officials on innovation of civic The figure has seen double-digit growth space materials to 3D printing, en-
services organized by BSCIC. The minister for four consecutive years, with the growth cryption, and large-scale high-speed
also urged the BSCIC authorities to render pace of last year quickening by 0.7 per- wind tunnel design have been added
real one-stop services to the entrepre- centage points from the previous year, to the restricted export list. Any ex-
neurs aiming to draw more investment said Deng Yongxu, an NBS statistician. In- ports of technology in such restricted
in the small, micro, medium, and cottage vestment in basic research stood at 133.56 areas of innovation will require gov-
(SMMC) sector. billion yuan last year, accounting for 6% of ernment approval and licenses.
One-Stop Service Act, 2018 has a provi- the total spending, the data showed.
According to the Regulations of the People’s
sion for Bangladesh Small and Cottage https://news.cgtn.com Republic of China on the Administration of
Industries Corporation (BSCIC) to provide Technology Import and Export (the Regula-
desired services for its service seekers/ Global data security initiative tions), the Ministry of Commerce and the
entrepreneurs, he mentioned. Due to the China will launch a global data security ini- Ministry of Science and Technology jointly
pandemic, the minister said, an opportun- tiative that can serve as a global standard for formulated, adjusted, and published the
ity for shifting labor-intensive industries data security, Chinese State Councilor and Catalogue on August 28, 2020. The main
to Bangladesh has been created. “Many Foreign Minister Wang Yi said via video at purpose of the Regulations and the Cata-
foreign entrepreneurs have showed their an international seminar on “Seizing digital logue is to standardize technology export
interest to invest in Bangladesh,” he said opportunities for cooperation and devel- management, promote technological pro-
and urged the BSCIC officials to ensure opment” in Beijing. In his keynote speech, gress and foreign economic and techno-
world-standard services for foreign en- Wang also noted that China has not asked logical cooperation, and safeguard the
trepreneurs. He also called upon them to and will not ask Chinese companies to national economic security.
keep the present pace of production by transfer overseas data to the Chinese gov- The last revision of the Catalogue was in
showing their utmost professionalism and ernment in breach of other countries’ laws. 2008. With the rapid development of sci-
sincerity. ence and technology and the continuous
The initiative comes as experts believe
The industries minister directed the BSCIC that mounting data security risks have put improvement of China’s scientific and
officials to gear up their activities for cre- national security, public interests and per- technological strength and industrial
ating online marketing platform and help sonal rights at stake, and pose new chal- competitiveness, the Chinese government
implement Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina- lenges to global digital governance. Wang believes that it is imperative that the Cata-
declared stimulus package for affected- said China’s initiative includes eight pro- logue be adjusted and updated in a timely
entrepreneurs of industrial, service, and posals. China suggests that states handle manner in accordance with international
SMMC sectors etc. due to the Covid-19 data security in a comprehensive, object- practices.
pandemic. In cooperation with BSCIC, he ive and evidence-based manner, and op- https://www.jdsupra.com
said, thousands of small industries have poses ICT (information and communica-
been set up in rural areas of the country tions technology) activities that use data Antitrust Guidelines
which contribute a lot to boosting the to conduct activities that undermine other Recently, a book titled Collection of Antitrust
country’s economic growth. states’ national security and interests. Regulations and Guidelines 2019, authored
https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd https://www.globaltimes.cn by the Anti-Monopoly Bureau (“AMB”) of
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020 3
Technology Market Scan
China’s State Administration for Market also outpaced public R&D investment or Indian companies, data compiled by
Regulation (“SAMR”), was published by over the years although the latter has put the Department of Science and Technol-
China Industry and Commerce Press. This in more in absolute terms. The revelations ogy (DST) showed that between 2005 and
book officially makes public the following are made by the latest edition of Science 2018, nearly 8 out of 10 applications had
four long-anticipated antitrust guidelines: (1) and Technology Indicators (STI-2019-20) been filed by foreigners, or foreign entities
Antitrust Guidelines for the Automobile In- compiled by the department of science abroad. Residents from the US, Japan, and
dustry (“Auto Industry Guidelines”), (2) Anti- and technology under the Centre. While Germany accounted for over 45% of the
trust Guidelines for the Intellectual Property the employment data is for 2017–2018, in- patents filed during the same period, with
Rights Sector (“IPR Guidelines”), (3) Guide- vestment data is up to 2018–2019, and is those in the UK, France, Switzerland, Rus-
lines on the Application of Leniency Mech- the latest available on the subject. sia, Netherlands, and India also accounting
anism in Horizontal Monopoly Agreement for substantial amounts.
While at least seven of every 10 women
Cases (“Leniency Guidelines”), and (4) Guide- employed by private R&D facilities are ac- The trend seems particularly puzzling es-
lines on the Undertakings’ Commitments in tually doing research and development, pecially given that investment into India’s
Antitrust Cases (“Commitment Guidelines”). not even half of the women hired by major private sector had been increasing at
For the first time, these important antitrust scientific agencies are directly involved in around twice the rate of that into public
guidelines are released via book publication research. Only public units in the industrial investment. But a deeper understanding
rather than official websites. sector compare well with private R&D fa- of the intellectual property rights ecosys-
According to China’s Anti-Monopoly cilities—but the overall number of women tem shows why India isn’t capitalizing on
Law (“AML”), the Anti-Monopoly Commit- on rolls at such units is 10 times lesser com- its innovative minds.
tee of the State Council (“AMC”) is respon- pared to private R&D facilities. Percentage At the heart of the issue is the lack of re-
sible for formulating and issuing antitrust of women in other Central and state gov- search and funding. According to data
guidelines. In 2009, the AMC issued its first ernment departments, and scientific and from the Organisation for Economic Co-
set of guidelines on market definition. industrial research organisations all paling operation and Development (OECD), India
in comparison to the private sector. spent just 0.7% of its GDP in 2016–2017 on
In June 2015, the AMC empowered the Na-
tional Development and Reform Commis- Of the more than 20,000 women em- research and development, compared to
sion (“NDRC”), the previous antitrust author- ployed in private R&D companies, more Japan’s 3.2%, US’ 2.8%, and China’s 2.1%.
ity before the establishment of SAMR in April than 15,000 were involved in R&D activi- Yet, while funding remains a core con-
2018, to draft new antitrust guidelines. The ties, while about 2,800 and 2,500 were in cern, poor awareness over intellectual
draft versions were published by the NDRC auxiliary and administrative activities. In property rights, and especially patents is
for public comments from December 2015 the major scientific agencies funded by something that it also threatening to stifle
to March 2016. In March 2017, the revised the government, there are more than India’s drive towards innovation. Accord-
draft IPR Guidelines were published again 23,000 women employed but only 10,000 ing to the Officer of Controller General of
by the AMC for public comments. worked directly in R&D. Patents, it was US chipmaker, Qualcomm
These four new guidelines were approved Further, while R&D investment by the that had topped both patent filings and
in November 2018 and were issued in- government was about 120% more than grants in 2018–2019, filing nearly 1,600
ternally on 4 January 2019 by the AMC. the private sector in 2004–2005, the gap applications—over six times that of Tata
According to the AMB’s 2019 work plan has reduced significantly. In 2018–2019, Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s top
public investment was only 40% more ranking company on the list.
announced on 9 January 2019, these
guidelines were scheduled for public re- than investment made by the business https://www.timesnownews.com
lease in 2019. However, they were released enterprises (see graphic). Compared to
only recently via book publication. the 300% jump in public investment on R&D policy to bolster drug
https://www.mondaq.com
R&D from 2004–2005 to 2018–2019, pri- discovery
vate sector investment spiked over 600%. The Centre will soon unveil a new Research
INDIA In 2018–2019, of the 1.2 lakh crore invest- & Development (R&D) policy to boost drug
ment in R&D, private investment was Rs discovery and the manufacture of medical
Women in R&D 51,115 crore, while the government in- devices in the country. Alongside, numer-
vested Rs 72,732 crore. ous production-linked incentives are also
Research and Development (R&D) activ-
ity in India’s private sector has a larger https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com on the anvil, including to the scientists
p roportion of women compared to
involved in the process, P.D. Vaghela, Sec-
government-supported agencies even Patents applications retary, Department of Pharmaceuticals.
as men continue to dominate the sector Despite the growth in the number of pa- The government proposes to set up three
overwhelmingly. The private sector has tent applications being filed by Indians, major manufacturing parks including
4 TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020
Technology Market Scan
one in Hyderabad, with an investment SMEs to create innovative announced that it is seeking to develop
of ₹1,000 crore each to help drive import products an online sales channel similar to Lazada,
substitution of basic raw materials, active Shopee, and Alibaba—directly competing
The Industry Ministry launched the Indo-
pharmaceutical ingredients (API), and the with the e-commerce giants. Tentatively
nesia Food Innovation (IFI) 2020 to challenge
making of medical devices, Mr. Vaghela dubbed the Online Market, minister Datuk
small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs)
said. Addressing a webinar to commem- Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said that it
in the food sector to promote their innova-
orate the 77th anniversary of CSIR-Indian is intended to provide a more convenient
tive products by utilizing local resources.
Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), shopping experience for Malaysians.
the Secretary said there had to be renewed “The Indonesia Food Innovation is aimed
“I have asked the Small and Medium En-
focus on bringing together research insti- at encouraging innovation and business
terprises Corporation, the National Entre-
tutions, academia, and the industry to development of SMEs, especially in the preneurship Institute, the Co-operative
identify new chemicals, update processes, food sector,” the ministry’s Director Gen- Institute of Malaysia (IKM) and the Co-
and discover new drug delivery systems. eral of SME and Various Industry, Gati operative Commission of Malaysia to con-
He said current approval processes were Wibawaningsih, stated at the launch of duct a study on the implementation of the
archaic and that there was a dire need to IFI 2020 held virtually. Wibawaningsih application,” said Datuk Wan Junaidi. The
strengthen institutions and recognize sci- remarked that the IFI will accelerate busi- minister further claimed that with the new
entists’ role in new discoveries, and to help ness development of food products of e-commerce platform, consumers will no
them commercialize the projects so they SMEs and support startups in the sector longer need to shop at Lazada, Shopee, or
too can “become millionaires.” to expand their businesses. The program Alibaba due to their higher charges. He is
The Centre has so far received 13 requests will lay emphasis on product innovation also confident that the Online Market will
for setting up the bulk drug parks. CSIR-DG and the utilization of local raw materials be one of the largest online sales move-
Shekhar C. Mande said about 53 APIs had to encourage SMEs to utilize the profuse ments in the market.
been identified for manufacture, of which supply of local resources, she noted.
https://ringgitplus.com
26 were being processed on a war footing, The IFI 2020 will select eligible participants
with results expected in 2–3 years. to partake in the Food Camp Program REPUBLIC OF KOREA
https://www.thehindu.com wherein they will be trained and mentored
by professionals to hone their capabilities R&D budget spending
INDONESIA both in terms of the technical aspects and The Republic of Korea’s government
business toward the realization of modern said that it is seeking a 27.2 trillion won
Digitization of state-owned SMEs in the food industry. Participants will (US$22.8 billion) research and develop-
enterprises be segregated into the categories of inter- ment (R&D) budget for 2021 to secure
In a bid to help the digital transformation of mediate product and end product. In both growth for future generations. The sum
Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs), categories, the first winner will receive Rp40 represents a 12.3% increase from 24.2 tril-
Jakarta-based MDI Ventures announced the million in cash, while the one coming sec- lion won for 2020 and marks the second
launch of a new $500 million tech invest- ond will be offered Rp25 million, and the year of a double-digit annual rise follow-
ment fund. The fresh capital will be used third place holder will get Rp15 million. ing the 18% hike for 2020, the Ministry of
in tech startups that have the potential to Winners will also get the opportunity to Science and ICT said.
drive digital transformation for SOEs and scale-up their businesses through exclu- Of the total, roughly half, or 13.2 trillion
seek to plug its portfolio into all of Indone- sive coaching and mentoring, the facility won, will be injected into the so-called
sia’s state-owned enterprise. The Indones- of HACCP certification, and other certifi- New Deal projects, helping combat infec-
ian government has appreciated the fund cates deemed necessary to boost com- tious diseases, promoting development
and said it will act as a push for a full-fledged petitiveness. The winners will also have the of industrial materials, components, and
state-owned digital ecosystem. opportunity to participate in various exhi- equipment, as well as supporting bio-
The venture firm is looking for tech startups bitions, investor matchmaking, and obtain health, future mobility, and system chips.
that have strong growth promise and are will- the membership of global e-commerce. The government said it will also allocate
ing to help traditional and offline SOEs to join https://en.antaranews.com funding for basic R&D and fostering in-
the nation’s thriving digital economy.With this novative researchers.
investment, MDI Ventures has now become MALAYSIA The ministry said it has earmarked 1.1
the largest corporate-backed multi-fund ven- trillion won for the digital new deal ef-
ture capital in Indonesia with more than $790 New e-commerce platform fort covering artificial intelligence 5G
million in assets under management. The Ministry of Entrepreneur Develop- mobile connectivity that can contribute
https://www.entrepreneur.com ment and Cooperatives (MEDAC) has to the digitization of the country’s social
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020 5
Technology Market Scan
verhead capital. A further 800 billion won
o government will invest 2 trillion won in the local financial sector. MAS also aims to
will be used in the green new deal efforts research and development for semicon- strengthen support for large-scale innov-
centered on renewables. The new year’s ductor, biotechnology, and electric vehi- ation projects, and build a stronger pipeline
budget will funnel 200 billion won into re- cles, it said. The government will also set of Singaporean fintech talent. The amount
sponding to infectious illnesses and deal- up a fund of 400 billion won to support will be invested over the next 3 years under
ing with outbreaks, with 170 billion won to 100 firms in sectors of materials, parts, and the enhanced Financial Sector Technology
be spent on finding local treatment drugs equipment over the next 5 years, the min- and Innovation Scheme (FSTI 2.0), MAS
and vaccines for COVID-19. istry said. managing director Ravi Menon announced .
To help boost the materials, components, https://en.yna.co.kr The funding has been ramped up from the
and equipment sectors, the government $225 million spread over 5 years that was
will provide 2.2 trillion won to better re- AI semiconductor hub injected under the original FSTI scheme,
spond to shifts in the global value chain The Republic of Korean government in- launched in 2015, with a vision of making
caused by the pandemic and trade dis- tends to launch a ₩1 trillion ($843.9 mil- Singapore a Smart Financial Centre.
putes. Seoul said it wants to spend 2.3 lion) initiative to make the country the Under the enhanced scheme, the MAS will
trillion won on bio-health, future mobility, world’s artificial intelligence (AI) semi- double the maximum funding amount,
and system chips, which can all enhance conductor hub. The project also aims to from $200,000 to $400,000, under the
the country’s competitiveness in critical increase the region’s electronic compo- Proof-of-Concept Grant, and will increase
sectors, while 7.3 trillion won is to be pro- nents manufacturing capability. Seoul the maximum funding support from 50%
vided for basic R&D and 300 billion won for will facilitate the program by providing to 70% of qualifying project cost, the au-
promising scientists, to help the country funding to local companies and institu- thority said in a separate statement.
stay abreast of the latest advances in sci- tions through 2029. In May, the Republic of
ence and technology. A merit-based tiered funding mechanism
Korea revealed AI and 5G related techno-
will be introduced to replace the existing
The R&D budget that was submitted to the logical development would drive its post-
flat 50% funding support of qualifying
National Assembly is set to be approved coronavirus economic recovery efforts.
project cost. The level of funding support
by lawmakers on Dec. 2. The total size of The Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, and quantum cap for each applicant will
the country’s budget sent to parliament Industry, and Energy will contribute vary according to the total number of fa-
stands at 555.8 trillion won, an increase of ₩521.6 billion ($439.1 million) to the vorable votes awarded by an evaluation
8.5% compared to this year. initiative through 2026. In addition, the panel. Funded by the Financial Sector De-
https://en.yna.co.kr country’s Ministry of Science and ICT (In- velopment Fund, the latest initiative aims
formation and Computer Technology) has to invigorate the culture of innovation in
R&D in new growth-engine earmarked ₩488 billion ($410.8 million) Singapore and deepen the cyber-security
sectors for the program over the next 10 years. capabilities in the financial sector.
The republic of Korea plans to invest 5 tril- The Republic of Korean administrators https://www.straitstimes.com
lion won (US$4.2 billion) in research and de- have enlisted 91 businesses, 29 universi-
velopment for new growth-engine sectors, ties, and 8 research institutions to work Cooperation for PCT
including semiconductor and biotechnol- on its semiconductor development pro- applications
ogy, the trade ministry said. The industry ject. Seoul is interested in addressing the
The Intellectual Property Office of Singa-
ministry also expanded a list of materials, world’s need for chips that enable innov-
pore (IPOS) has expanded its international
parts, and equipment to 338 to reduce the ation in cutting-edge fields like biotech-
cooperation with the Republic of Korea and
country’s reliance on Japanese imports and nology, Internet of Things (IoT) enabled
Lao People’s Democratic Republic for appli-
cope with a change in global supply chains home appliances, and smart vehicles.
cations filed under the Patent Cooperation
after the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.theburnin.com Treaty (PCT). With effect from 1 July 2020,
Previously, the Republic of Korea had listed nationals and residents of the Republic of
100 local materials, parts, and equipment SINGAPORE Korea will be able to select IPOS, in addition
that it aimed to cut the reliance on Jap- to the Australian Patent Office, the Austrian
anese imports since Tokyo abruptly rolled
Innovation and technology in Patent Office, and the Korean Intellectual
out restrictions on exports of key indus- financial sector Property Office (KIPO), as a competent Inter-
trial materials to Seoul in July last year. By The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) national Searching Authority (ISA) and Inter-
2022, the government will spend 5 trillion is stepping up its support for fintech here. It national Preliminary Examining Authority
won in research and development to se- will commit $250 million in the second edi- (IPEA) for international applications filed
cure technologies for new growth-engine tion of a scheme to speed up technology with KIPO or with the International Bureau
sectors, the ministry said. In particular, the adoption and innovation-driven growth in (IB) as the Receiving Office under the PCT.
6 TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020
Technology Market Scan
With effect from 7 July 2020, nationals and Budget to fight COVID-19 https://www.bangkokpost.com
residents of Lao People’s Democratic Repub-
Singapore is dedicating nearly SGD $55
lic will also be able to select IPOS, in addition VIET NAM
billion (USD $38.2 billion) to combat cor-
to the China National Intellectual Property
onavirus impact in the region, with the
Administration, the European Patent Office, Resolution to promote
introduction of additional SGD $48 billion
the Japan Patent Office, and the Korean In- supporting industries
in “resilience budget,” announced by Dep-
tellectual Property Office, as a competent uty Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat. The The Vietnamese government ap-
International Searching Authority (ISA) and new fund will be an addition to SGD $6.4 proved Resolution 115/NQ-CP (Resolution
International Preliminary Examining Author- billion announced earlier in Feb 2020 to 115) on August 6, 2020, to promote
ity (IPEA) for international applications filed fight against coronavirus pandemic. This supporting industries in Vietnam. The
with the International Bureau (IB) as the Re- “Supplementary Budget” accounts to 11% approved resolution maps out a com-
ceiving Office under the PCT. of GDP and amounts to nearly half of the prehensive approach to improve both ad-
The Republic of Korea and Lao People’s Government’s $106 billion budget for ministrative policies and enhance private
Democratic Republic are the newest addi- 2020. This is only the second time Singa- sectors’ capabilities through training and
tions to the list of countries that have ap- pore has drawn on its national reserves to financial incentives. Supporting indus-
pointed IPOS as an ISA/IPEA, which includes fund special budget measures, apart from tries that are listed in the prioritized list
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, the earlier 2009 global financial crisis. prescribed in the Law on Investment and
Thailand, Uganda, United States of America, Mr Heng, who is also Finance Minister said, Decree 111/2015/NĐ-CP are the focus of
and Vietnam. Enterprises in these countries “The Resilience Budget focuses on three this resolution.
can utilize this cooperation to benefit from key areas, -to save jobs, support work As prescribed in the Law on Invest-
IPOS’s high-quality and efficient patent ers, and protect livelihoods’. The pack ment and Decree 111/2015/NĐ-CP, the
search and examination services. For ex- age is also allocated to help businesses following supporting industrial products
ample, one unique strength of IPOS is that overcome immediate challenges and to are prioritized in the future policy frame-
it is able to conduct patent searches directly strengthen economic/social resilience for work, particularly:
in both English and Chinese to cover prior art the country to raise intact and stronger
• Mechanical engineering indus-
documents in both languages. against the blow of raising cases”. “SG
try: industrial products supporting
Clean campaign was launched in Febru
IPOS’s cooperation for international ap- high-tech industries (high precision
ary to drive higher levels of personal and
plications filed under the PCT could also molds, standardized mechanical de-
public hygiene” he recalled. By building
be leveraged, in addition to regional work- tails, microelectronic circuits), compo-
up a national stockpile of health supplies
sharing networks such as the Patent Pros- nents and spare parts for equipment
country is ensuring the availability of
ecution Highway (PPH) and PCT-ASEAN using renewable energies, new gen-
healthcare supplies.
Patent Examination Cooperation (PCT-AS- eration motors, etc.;
PEC), to speed up the patent grant process https://www.biospectrumasia.com
• Textile and garment industry: natural
and to secure a patent right. Based on the
THAILAND fibers, synthetic fibers, technical fab-
cooperation of IPOS with the Ministry of
rics, chemicals, auxiliaries, and dyes for
Industry & Handicraft (MIH) of Cambodia
and the Department of Intellectual Prop-
Regulations to stop “bio- fabrics dyeing, etc.;
erty (DIP) of Lao People’s Democratic Re-
piracy” • Leather and footwear industry: leather
public, patent applicants will also be able The Department of Intellectual Property and leatherette, chemical tanning, shoe
to submit a Search and Examination report is pushing ahead with amendments to sewing thread, shoe accessories, etc.;
issued by IPOS to the MIH or the DIP for the Patent Act aimed at preventing theft • Electronics industry: basic electronics—
the grant of a patent in Cambodia or Laos. of traditional knowledge known as bio- photoelectronic components, compo-
piracy. Jittima Srithaporn, deputy director- nents of quartz, materials for electronic
The expanding international cooperation
general, said the draft amendment, which component production (semiconduc-
of IPOS enables applicants to enjoy patent
is expected to go to a public hearing next tors, magnetic materials, etc.), electronic
acceleration in both the ASEAN and inter-
month, will introduce mandatory profit- circuits, batteries, etc.; and
national regions, facilitating increased speed
sharing for commercial use of traditional
to markets for the benefit of stakeholders. • Automobile industry: electrical com-
knowledge through patents. She said a
This further contributes to Singapore’s goal ponents, engine and engine details,
business seeking to patent innovations
of becoming a global IP hub in Asia which is lubrication systems, cooling system,
involving traditional knowledge govern-
at the growth frontier for Research and Devel- ing products such as herbs will be re- fuel supply system, power transmis-
opment (R&D) investments and IP activities. quired to share any profits made from folk sion system, etc.
https://www.mondaq.com wisdom. https://www.vietnam-briefing.com
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020 7
Technology Scan
Focus: Emerging technologies to fight Covid-19
INTERNATIONAL networks to predict how the proteins that lives, is affecting our mental health. Using
make up an organism curve or crinkle, AI-driven text analysis, Eichstaedt queried
Artificial Intelligence to fight based on their genome. Protein structures over two million tweets hashtagged with
COVID-19 determine the shape of receptors in an or- COVID-related terms during February and
A number of research projects are using ganism’s cells. Once you know what shape March, and combined it with other data
AI to identify drugs that were developed the receptor is, it becomes possible to sets on relevant factors including the num-
to fight other diseases but which could work out which drugs could bind to them ber of cases, deaths, demographics, and
now be repurposed to take on corona- and disrupt vital processes within the cells: more, to illuminate the virus’ effects on
virus. By studying the molecular setup of in the case of COVID-19, disrupting how it mental health.
existing drugs with AI, companies want to binds to human cells or slowing the rate it Google-owned machine-learning com-
identify which ones might disrupt the way reproduces, for example. munity Kaggle is setting a number of COV-
COVID-19 works. Human epidemiologists at ProMed, an ID-19-related challenges to its members,
BenevolentAI, a London-based drug-dis- infectious-disease-reporting group, pub- including forecasting the number of cases
covery company, began turning its atten- lished their own alert just half an hour and fatalities by city as a way of identify-
tions towards the coronavirus problem in after HealthMap, and Brownstein also ing exactly why some places are hit worse
late January. The company’s AI-powered acknowledged the importance of human than others. “The goal here isn’t to build
knowledge graph can digest large vol- virologists in studying the spread of the another epidemiological model… there
umes of scientific literature and biomed- outbreak. “What we quickly realized was are lots of good epidemiological models
ical research to find links between the that as much it’s easy to scrape the web out there. Actually, the reason we have
genetic and biological properties of dis- to create a really detailed line list of cases launched this challenge is to encourage
eases and the composition and action of around the world, you need an army of our community to play with the data and
drugs. The company had previously been people, it can’t just be done through ma- try and pick apart the factors that are driv-
focused on chronic disease, rather than in- chine learning and webscraping,” he said. ing difference in transmission rates across
fections, but was able to retool the system HealthMap also drew on the expertise of cities,” Kaggle’s CEO Anthony Goldbloom
to work on COVID-19 by feeding it the lat- researchers from universities across the told the Stanford conference.
est research on the virus. “Because of the world, using “official and unofficial sourc- https://www.zdnet.com
amount of data that’s being produced es” to feed into the line list.
about COVID-19 and the capabilities we Canadian startup DarwinAI has developed AI Algorithm accurately
have in being able to machine-read large a neural network that can screen X-rays for predicts COVID-19
amounts of documents at scale, we were signs of COVID-19 infection. While using Researchers have developed an artificial
able to adapt [the knowledge graph] so swabs from patients is the default for test- intelligence (AI) diagnostic that can pre-
to take into account the kinds of concepts ing for coronavirus, analyzing chest X-rays dict whether someone is likely to have
that are more important in biology, as well could offer an alternative to hospitals that COVID-19 based on their symptoms. The
as the latest information about COVID-19 don’t have enough staff or testing kits to team of researchers at King’s College Lon-
itself,” says Olly Oechsle, lead software en- process all their patients quickly. Darwi- don (London, England), Massachusetts
gineer at BenevolentAI. nAI released COVID-Net as an open-source General Hospital (Boston, MA, USA), and
The system suggested a number of system, and “the response has just been ZOE, a health science company (London,
compounds that could potentially have overwhelming”, says DarwinAI CEO Shel- England), have developed an AI model
an effect on COVID-19 including, most don Fernandez. More data sets of X-rays that uses data from the COVID Symptom
promisingly, a drug called Baricitinib. The were contributed to train the system, Study app to predict COVID-19 infection,
drug is already licensed to treat rheuma- which has now learnt from over 17,000 by comparing people’s symptoms and the
toid arthritis. The properties of Baricitinib images, while researchers from Indonesia, results of traditional COVID tests. This could
mean that it could potentially slow down Turkey, India, and other countries are all provide help for populations where access
the process of the virus being taken up now working on COVID-19. “Once you put to testing is limited, according to the re-
into cells and reduce its ability to infect it out there, you have 100 eyes on it very searchers who plan start to conduct two
lung cells. quickly, and they’ll very quickly give you clinical trials in the UK and the US shortly.
DeepMind, the AI arm of Google’s par- some low-hanging fruit on ways to make More than 3.3 million people across the
ent company Alphabet, is using data on it better,” Fernandez said. world have downloaded the app and are
genomes to predict organisms’ protein Johannes Eichstaedt, assistant professor in using it to report daily on their health sta-
structure, potentially shedding light on Stanford University’s department of psych- tus, whether they feel well or have any
which drugs could work against COVID-19. ology, has been examining Twitter posts to new symptoms such as persistent cough,
DeepMind has released a deep-learning estimate how COVID-19, and the changes fever, fatigue, and loss of taste or smell
library called AlphaFold, which uses neural that it’s brought to the way we live our (anosmia).
8 TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020Technology Scan
The research team investigated which The tool has already been introduced in a “2-in-1” detection device that automatic-
symptoms known to be associated with the Qiboshan Hospital in Zhengzhou, ally scans individuals entering its lobby for
COVID-19 were most likely to be associ- Henan province and plans are underway face masks and normal body temperature.
ated with a positive test. They found a wide to expand it to a further 100 hospitals. The device uses Microsoft technology and
range of symptoms compared to cold and Researchers at Damo Academy told Sina camera equipment that continuously scans
flu, and warn against focusing only on Tech News that the AI tool can distinguish people. It immediately alerts first-line staff
fever and cough. Indeed, they found loss between patients infected with the COV- when problems are detected so they can
of taste and smell was particularly striking, ID-19 coronavirus and ordinary viral pneu- stop potentially infected individuals.
with two-thirds of users testing positive monia (the two have similar symptoms) “We have collaborated with Microsoft
for coronavirus infection reporting this with up to 96% accuracy by looking at a Taiwan to deploy artificial intelligence
symptom, as compared with just over a patient’s CT scan. Researchers trained AI (AI) masks and infra-red (IR) temperature
fifth of the participants who tested nega- system using data from more than 5,000 2-in-1 detection device,” said the hos-
tive. The findings suggest that anosmia confirmed COVID-19 cases which includes pital administration vice superintendent
is a stronger predictor of COVID-19 than the latest treatment guidelines and pub- Liao Mao-Hung. “With the deployment of
fever, supporting anecdotal reports of loss Microsoft AI technology, we can effect-
lished research on the virus and takes
of smell and taste as a common symptom ively and quickly detect whether hospital
only 20 seconds to issue a diagnosis re-
of the disease. personnel are wearing masks or have ab-
port. Whereas, a human doctor can take
The researchers then created a mathem- between 5 and 15 minutes for same. normal body temperatures that need to
atical model that predicted with nearly be addressed in a timely way. It not only
The Qiboshan Hospital was built specific-
80% accuracy whether an individual is improves the efficiency of epidemic pre-
ally to tackle cases of COVID-19. The hos-
likely to have COVID-19 based on their age, vention, but it also reduces the work bur-
pital already has automated helpers on
sex, and a combination of four key symp- den of front-line personnel, so that limited
hand, such as robots that carry medicine
toms: loss of smell or taste, severe or per- human resources can be used more effect-
for the staff and gadgets which monitor
sistent cough, fatigue, and skipping meals. ively.”
patients’ temperature around the clock.
Applying this model to the entire group The 2-in-1 detection device employs AI, the
Alibaba says they’re working on introduc-
of over 800,000 app users experiencing intelligent edge, and the cloud to help pro-
ing it to another 100 healthcare facilities in
symptoms predicted that just under a tect the hospital’s patients and staff from
the provinces of Hubei, Guangdong, and
fifth of those who were unwell (17.42%) the outside spread of COVID-19. Daniel Li,
Anhui.
were likely to have COVID-19 at that time. Microsoft Taiwan Azure Business Group
The researchers have suggested that com- It’s meant to free up medical personnel
Lead, said a Microsoft team pre-emptively
bining this AI prediction with widespread for other tasks by taking over the simple
started design work in early February,
adoption of the app could help to iden- yet time-consuming task of establishing
weeks before COVID-19 was declared as
tify those who are likely to be infectious a diagnosis. CT scans were added as a cri-
a global pandemic. “Within two weeks,
as soon as the earliest symptoms start to terion for the diagnosis of new COVID-19
we developed the solution on Microsoft
appear, focusing tracking and testing ef- cases early in February by the Chinese Na-
Azure and – together with local Internet of
forts where they are most needed. tional Health Commission (in addition to
Things (IoT) partners – were able to launch
the previous nucleic acid test method) in
https://www.hospimedica.com the 2-in-1 device,” Li said. “We look forward
an effort to speed up the process and en-
to helping Taiwan’s medical intuitions, en-
sure patients would get treatment as soon
ASIA-PACIFIC terprises, and society to work together to
as possible. While definitely faster than the
go through this difficult time.”
CHINA alternative, it’s still a very time-consuming
task: the CT scans of a single patient can The AI mask and IR temperature detection
AI system to diagnose include more than 300 images. system is built with Microsoft Azure Cog-
COVID-19 faster nitive Services. It empowers an organiza-
https://www.pharmatutor.org
Damo Academy, a research institute of Ali- tion’s IT staff to build modules around their
baba has developed a new, Artificial Intel-
AI, IoT and cloud to keep away proprietary databases quickly and also to
ligence (AI) driven diagnosis system that COVID-19 deploy trained AI models to an IoT Edge
can detect COVID-19 infections with an ac- Yonghe Cardinal Tien Hospital in Taipei, module for real-time image analysis via
curacy of up to 96% reported by Sina Tech Taiwan Province of China, has been very Power BI. In addition, system alerts are
News. AI driven tool also uses computer- proactive in protecting in medical frontlin- available through Azure Bot services to
ized tomography (CT) scans of patients to ers, patients, and visitors against potential notify authorities immediately about real-
form a diagnostic, but it is faster and more COVID-19 infection. In the early weeks of time monitoring.
reliable than human doctors at diagnosis. infection in February, the hospital installed https://futureiot.tech
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020 9Technology Scan
IoT and wearable sensors to “The concept of remote patient monitor- AI-driven hospital pods to treat
monitor COVID-19 patients ing using wireless medical wearables can COVID-19 patients
extend into a clinical environment where
At the end of January, MobiHealthNews re- Karnataka Government recently an-
there is a need to minimize patient con-
ported that Shanghai Public Health Clin- nounced the launch of AI-driven mov-
tact and for a more flexible deployment
ical Center (SPHCC) was using California- able hospital to treat COVID-19 patients.
model,” said Jiang Li, CEO of VivaLNK. “The
based connected health startup VivaLNK’s It has been done in an effort to contain the
combination of VivaLNK sensors and Cas-
continuous temperature sensor to moni- spread of the virus in the state. Called the
sia’s gateways enables medical centers to
tor COVID-19 patients, which reduces the Vevra Pods, these are movable capsules
rapidly deploy patient monitoring solu-
risks of caregivers being exposed to the that are infused with artificial intelligence
tions not only in China but worldwide.”
virus. SPHCC recently announced that they to prevent the spread of contagious dis-
are using Bluetooth IoT products and solu- https://www.mobihealthnews.com eases such as COVID-19, flu, TB, and more.
tions provider Cassia Network’s gateways, Dr Sudhakar K, the education minister
together with VivaLNK’s medical wearable INDIA tweeted that AI has the potential to trans-
sensors to monitor COVID-19 patients. Disinfection using special form healthcare and urged tech startups
VivaLNK’s body temperature sensors are drones to focus on low-cost solutions. It has been
applied directly to the patient to provide developed by Bengaluru-based design-
Invest India, India’s National Investment
continuous, real-time monitoring of any and-build firm Vevra in association with
Promotion Agency have closely collabo-
changes in body temperature. Cassia’s Portugal-based healthcare IoT InnoWave
rated through the AGNI Mission, and Invest
gateways are being used to receive real- Group. With an accommodation capacity
India’s Business Immunity Platform (BIP)—
time patient data from the sensors and of up to nine beds, it will have an ante-
to facilitate the use of specially designed
wirelessly transmit this data to a nurse’s chamber airlock room to provide a safe
drones to support Covid-19 disinfection
station for continuous monitoring. area for healthcare professionals.
in Varanasi. The Government’s Covid-19
Cassia’s IoT Access Controller, a powerful strategies align with global best practice: The Pods will have stringent control over
network management tool is being used protecting Indians against Covid-19, by the quality of air being circulated in and
by medical staff to monitor patients and minimizing their chances of catching it. To out of the room with installations such
to provide a holistic view of their vitals in boost local authority capacities in achiev- as HEPA filters, UVC lights, and high-end
real-time. Cassia’s gateways allow up to 40 ing this, the Government is leveraging the exhaust system. It will also have PLC-inte-
Bluetooth Low Energy devices to be paired power of technology. grated air conditioning system to main-
and connected simultaneously while pro-
Drones offer an answer. Using drones, tain temperature and humidity. It will also
viding the long-range connectivity needed
authorities could spray disinfectant over have other features such as fire-resistant
to cover multiple rooms in the SPHCC. The
large, crowded, vulnerable urban areas: structure, anti-bacterial wall, attached toi-
SPHCC along with seven other hospitals
protecting city-dwellers from Covid-19, let, devices to measure oxygen level, RO
throughout China are currently using Cas-
while reducing human contact to keep water purifier, geyser, shower area, fire ex-
sia’s gateways with additional deployments
frontline workers safe. Helping Garuda tinguisher, CCTV surveillance, and more.
in other medical centers in the near future.
Aerospace, a Chennai-based drone The pods are reusable with 15 to 20 years’
SPHCC has been applying advanced tech startup, respond to Varanasi’s interest in structural warranty.
to help in the diagnosis and monitoring such disinfection: the team worked with https://analyticsindiamag.com
of COVID-19 patients. It has also worked Central, State, and local government au-
with Yitu Healthcare, a Shanghai-based thorities to help get Garuda’s technologies Screening of suspected
AI startup, to co-develop the AI-powered and personnel to Varanasi. The team moni- Covid-19 patients with voice
Intelligent Evaluation System of Chest CT tored and supported every step of this ex- samples, AI
for COVID-19, MobiHealthNews reported. ercise: helping Government and innovator Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
“Cassia is excited to be working with Viv- collaborate to fight Covid-19 together. (BMC) will start screening suspected
aLNK to help fight the spread of infectious
Drone operations in Varanasi have just Covid-19 patients through artificial intel-
diseases such as COVID-19 as well as help-
commenced. The team will now extend ligence (AI), using their voice samples. The
ing save lives,” said Felix Zhao, CEO of Cas-
similar capabilities to more cities across civic body signed the memorandum of
sia Networks. “With the combination of
India. This forms part of a wider effort understanding (MOU) with an Israel-based
VivaLNK’s continuous health monitoring
to use innovative technology, via Gov- startup company, Vocalis Health, for the
solutions, Cassia’s Bluetooth gateways and
ernment–innovator collaboration, to first-of-its-kind initiative in Mumbai.
IoT Access Controller, we can better equip
reinforce Indian authorities’ fight against
clinical centers and medical staff world- Vocalis Health is collecting voice samples
Covid-19.
wide with the critical tools they need to of people across the globe as an initiative
address this, and future pandemics.” https://www.expresscomputer.in to develop a diagnostic tool to identify
10 TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020Technology Scan
Covid-19 infected people. Even though Computer simulations to Use of AI-in-CCTV in transport
the concept is new, several countries like understand how the pandemic to detect masks
the US and Israel are using it. People can evolves Yolobus, an inter-city bus-service provider
submit their voice samples for analysis on
Decision makers have increasingly relied for distances involving 8–12 hours’ travel,
the company’s official website.
on computer simulations to understand uses CCTVs to detect masks, apart from
The gold standard test for diagnosis of the how the pandemic situation will evolve spraying disinfectants frequently. “We use
Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes Covid-19, over time. TCS, in collaboration with Pune- CCTVs in buses to track whether all the bus
is reverse transcription-polymerase chain based Prayas Health Group, is using digital crew and passengers are wearing masks,”
reaction (RT-PCR). But it takes over 8 hours twins to forecast the spread of COVID-19 Shailesh Gupta, co-founder and CEO,
to provide the result. Though rapid anti- in urban districts. A digital twin is a virtual Yolobus, told BusinessLine. Bus crew also
gen tests give test results within 30 min- computerized model of a physical system check whether all passengers are sporting
utes, as per the Indian Council of Medical that takes real-world data as input and pre- masks, provided for free by Yolobus, which
Research (ICMR), its false negativity rate dicts the future evolution of the system. has resumed services on half the number
is higher. With the ongoing unlocking of routes now as against March-end. Some
“Macro models don’t work well in coun-
of the national lockdown, the civic body of its routes are newer.
tries like India which have high hetero-
needs more economical alternatives to Cargo-mover Spoton Logistics is install-
geneity. So we developed ward-level
rapidly and accurately diagnose cases of ing an algorithm in its CCTV cameras at its
digital twins that modelled the spread of
Covid-19. Thus, BMC has decided to start loading and unloading locations to ensure
the disease as a function of the number
voice analysis to detect the virus within 30 that the workers use masks and maintain
of proximal contacts, average duration
seconds. social distance. Spoton Logistics MD and
of contacts, people and place charac-
Dr Neelam Andrade, dean of Nair Dental teristics, and population demographics CEO Abhik Mitra said that they are resort-
Hospital and in-charge of NESCO, explained like age, gender, comorbidities, etc,” says ing to visual analytics and algorithm in
the process. When the symptoms of Cov- Vinay Kulkarni, distinguished chief scien- over 300 locations as ensuring social dis-
id-19 manifest, the person starts having tist, TCS. “The model predictions closely tance becomes tough to track 24x7. Be-
breathing problems that affect the amount match the observations reported by city sides arming staff with sanitizers and ther-
of air exhaled. Then the air interacts with corporations and empower the admin- mometers, Spoton uses pulse oximeters at
inflamed muscles on its journey to produc- its loading and unloading sites, where the
istration to take better locality-specific
tion voices or speeches. These interactions company has deployed extra workers from
decisions.”
impact the voice modulations—measur- local areas as some of its workers from the
Ensuring people wear face masks and fol- migrant community had not returned.
able qualities that form the basis of their
low social distancing is expected to be a
biomarkers. Depending on its variations, an Cab aggregator Uber, which uses AI glo-
major challenge for organizations. AI is
individual can be detected with Covid-19. bally to verify whether its drivers have
being used to monitor live CCTV feeds
“There is one voice application that can be masks on, relies on technology in India to
and instantly report violations of guide-
installed on mobiles or smart laptops. The verify their masks, apart from asking them
lines to safety administrators. “It is critical
suspected patient will be asked to count to click a selfie. Also, to make both drivers
that a safe ecosystem is created for busi-
and passengers safe from each other, it is
a few numbers in front of the device like nesses and schools to re-open as soon as
putting plastic screens covering the driv-
a breath-analyser. The voice samples will possible in spite of COVID-19,” says Atul
ers in 20,000 taxis and plastic screens in
automatically get synced with the main Arya, CEO of Blackstraw, an AI company.
1,00,000 autorickshaws.
server of the provider. Then, through artifi- “Our AI-powered health risk management
cial intelligence, the result will be procured system developed jointly by Blackstraw Meanwhile, railway stations are installing
within 30 seconds,” she said. and Bharat Forge not only enables safety CCTVs with features to detect tempera-
of humans and compliance with govern- ture, mask, and social distancing. Vehant
The application will analyze voices of three
ment guidelines, but also drives long-term Technologies, which has Indian Railways
types of people—suspected, confirmed,
behavioural changes that are crucial to live as its customer, has developed an AI-based
and negative with Covid-19. Depending
by in the new normal.” software that captures temperature and
on their vocal biomarkers (VB), they will
mask using CCTVs. Vehant’s AI-cum-CCTV-
be diagnosed. For example, if a person’s TCS is using AI simulations to synthesize
based software that captures tempera-
VB is below the standard point—0.5, he/ molecules and discover new drugs to fight
tures, masks on a real time basis, and so-
she will be considered as negative. But if the virus. From a candidate set of 50,000
cial distancing are in use in railway stations
anyone records VB above it, he/she will be molecules, their simulations selected 31 including Raipur, Bilaspur, and Guwahati,
suspected with Covid-19 and an RT-PCR molecules that are now undergoing trials according to Kapil Bardeja, the company’s
test will be conducted for confirmation. as potential cures. CEO and co-founder. Bardeja estimates the
https://www.hindustantimes.com https://www.theweek.in market for CCTVs with temperature and
TECH MONITOR • Jul-Sep 2020 11You can also read
