How China has turned to tech like never before to combat the coronavirus
- This is the first in a series on the impact of the coronavirus on China's technology sector
- China is enlisting tech to not only combat the coronavirus but guarantee the continuation of normal daily life amid the lockdown of multiple cities
When Zhang Ge first donned protective clothing as part of his job as an engineer with a robotics company, it was not to prevent contamination of the delicate electronic circuitry inside his company’s hi-tech products. The 28 year old had been sent to Wuhan, epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, to install catering robots in a hospital at the front lines of the fight to contain the deadly disease.
Zhang was among more than 20 engineers from Shenzhen-based robotics company Pudu Technology assigned to install the robots in over 40 hospitals around the country. His task was to program the robots according to the layout of the hospital so they could automatically deliver cooked food and medication to patients’ bedsides.
“I was really anxious but my anxiety made my [protective] glasses fog up even more,” said Zhang, who went to college in Wuhan. “I had to remove them [to see my computer clearly].”
It took him four hours to complete an installation that would normally take one hour. By then it was after midnight and he could not get a hotel in the city so he ended up sleeping in the hospital’s duty room.
Hundreds of millions across China are facing similar feelings of anxiety, along with sadness and even anger, as the Lunar New year holiday – normally a time for happiness and reunions with family – saw cities across the country go into lockdown to prevent the disease from spreading.
It has also seen many turn to new technology and the internet for information on how to combat the virus and to carry out daily necessities, such as shopping and work.