Robots in the Post Pandemic World: A Look Into The Future of Robotics

In pandemic fiction, robots are often portrayed as automated machines that continue to operate in the face of a virus outbreak. In these narratives, we see robots continuing to fulfill their pre-programmed functions, such as building cars and performing menial tasks. While this idea is certainly interesting and will likely remain an element of future pandemics, it doesn’t quite capture the intricacies and complexities of robotics today. Thankfully, society is far from reaching the point of no return in which robots would be our only line of defense against pandemic viruses. Instead, we find ourselves at a unique crossroads where a pandemic hasn’t happened yet but could very well happen in the near future. And with this new awareness concerning the state of robotics and artificial intelligence, there’s potential for many benefits should society prepare accordingly.

What Are The Implications of Robotics on a Pandemic?

The first implication of robotics on a pandemic is that, because of the vast number of robotics operating in society, a pandemic will have a bigger impact than it otherwise would. This, in turn, means that the amount of damage caused by a pandemic will also be much greater. That is, even if a pandemic virus only damages robotics, this is a major issue because the number of robots is so large. A pandemic could easily cause damage to a huge number of robots. This damage could be physical, as in the case of broken robots, or it could be functional, as in the case of infected robots. Either way, the amount of damage would be very large. Physical damage can be easily mitigated, but functional damage needs to be actively addressed.

Robotics and AI in the Context of Pandemics

Robotics is the engineering that deals with the construction and operation of robots. It is a multidisciplinary field involving aspects of electrical engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering, artificial intelligence and many other research areas. Robotics has its roots in applied science and engineering, but it is also closely related to computer science, as well as to other disciplines, including artificial intelligence, control systems, molecular engineering, mechatronics, synthetic biology, and biotechnology. In the context of pandemics, artificial intelligence is the branch of computer science that deals with the simulation of human intelligence processes by computers, as well as the ability of computers to understand human languages. While the first half of the 20th century was the era of computation, the second half of the century was the era of artificial intelligence.

Robots Can be Part of the Solution in Combating Viruses

The first thing to note about robots is that they can be programmed to avoid areas where viruses are likely to be. This is obviously a big advantage in combating viruses, as robots can pass through areas where people are at risk of being exposed to pathogens. Robots can also be equipped with sensors that detect pathogens. This can be done with various devices, such as spectrometers, infrared sensors, ultraviolet sensors or atomic force microscopes, which are capable of detecting the presence of pathogens. This is particularly important when looking for pathogens that are hard to detect, such as those that are new or that have never infected humans before.

How Robotics Works in Post-Pandemic Times

In the event of a pandemic, most robots will have been disabled by the pandemic virus or other pathogens that have survived the pandemic. Robots that have been programmed to self-destruct upon being infected will be able to limit the spread of the pandemic virus, but only if the virus is detected early enough. On the other hand, robots that have not been programmed to self-destruct will remain in operation for some time after the pandemic has started. This is because the pandemic would need to infect a large portion of the robots in order to stop all of them from operating. Consequently, we can expect that most robots will continue to operate even after a pandemic has begun.

Applications of Robotics in Post-Pandemic Situations 

In a post-pandemic world, robotics can be used for many different purposes. In addition to using robotics for surveillance and monitoring, we can also use robots for decontamination, research, and the production of supplies. Robots can be used for decontamination in a variety of ways. They can be used to clean surfaces, such as walls or streets, as well as to disinfect or sterilize equipment or other objects. Alternatively, robots can be used to incinerate infected objects, such as corpses. This would be particularly useful in the case of pandemics that cause extremely high death rates.

Conclusion

A pandemic is an event that has the potential to infect and kill large numbers of people all across the globe. While pandemics have occurred throughout history, modern society has the potential to be significantly impacted by a pandemic. If the pandemic virus is strong enough, it could kill millions of people who are not vaccinated against the virus. In order to prepare for a potential pandemic, we need to understand what robotics and artificial intelligence are, and how they could be impacted by a pandemic. This is important because we can use this understanding to better prepare ourselves, and also better prepare robotics and artificial intelligence.