Concrete Analysis | From voice-activated lifts to augmented reality, coronavirus spurs use of proptech by real estate sector
- Businesses, tenants and landlords are reassessing current property technologies to address risks and guard against threats such as the coronavirus outbreak
- Insurance company introduces app to alert users to coronavirus cases in buildings within 200 metres of their location
The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed much about the cities and communities we live in. It has also shown us the power of technology and how it can be applied in the built environment.
Since the coronavirus outbreak, there has been much analysis of how it has finally forced the digital transformation of companies and industries globally. In the real estate industry, we’re hearing a lot about how the situation is a tipping point for property technology or proptech.
Industry watchers point to how a slew of new tech innovations in real estate could further be spurred by this crisis: think voice-activated lifts to prevent the spread of germs, drones used to sanitise buildings, increased use of augmented reality or virtual reality platforms to walk buildings and facilities managers through necessary checks remotely instead of doing them in person.
The fact is these solutions already exist. There is a now a new-found appreciation for what proptech can do. With the outbreak of the virus, the convenience of urban living has shifted to being a danger in one stroke because population density leads to easier transmission. The urgency of addressing these risks has surfaced new and useful ways to apply existing technologies within built environments.
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Singapore deploys robot to promote safe distancing among park visitors
Businesses, tenants and landlords are reassessing current real estate technologies and tools the same way video conferencing has become essential overnight despite being in offices in the early 2000s and in our phones for nearly a decade.