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The same Saturday in which Pedro Snchez decreed in Spain the alarm status warlike metaphors began in this health crisis in which an invisible enemy. To fight the coronavirus the innovation is shown as an essential ally. From artificial intelligence the first technology to warn of the spread of the virus in Wuhan at the end of the year to robots or drones incorporated from the outset into this battle.

The presence of robotics has now become more evident thanks to the number of functions that robots can perform without exposing people, says Pierre Bourdin Kreitz, professor at the UOC in Computer, Multimedia and Telecommunications Studies, who quotes These functions include cleaning, dispensing medications, disinfecting hospitals and other centres, carrying out massive PCR tests and even supplying food or other products that can be sent by courier, he adds.

He refers to robots like Roxo, the FedEx delivery robot, or Scout, as the one from Amazon was baptized. But there are also others, such as Moxi, designed to reduce the workloads of nursing staff by delivering and picking up supplies and bedding; UVD disinfection robots, which use ultraviolet light to kill harmful microorganisms and which, following the appearance of Covid-19, will serve more than 2,000 hospitals in China, or drones that have been integrated into the Operation Balmis of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) of the Spanish Armed Forces, which have gone from being used for agricultural tasks to disinfecting large areas from the air to eliminate the coronavirus.

They are not the only functionalities that drones can provide in the fight against the current pandemic. As it explains Jordi Sandalinas, lawyer, communicator and collaborating professor at the UOC in the drones and law seminar, they also serve to locate and capture information in the form of data. They should be able to do whatever the sensor adapted to the hardware in question allows them to do. Thus, a drone with a suitable sensor should be able to visualize biochemical parameters, he explains. Even the so-called pandemic drones begin to develop. As published by The Robot Report, these drones could detect infectious conditions in crowded spaces using thermal sensors and intelligent systems that control temperature and heart rate, among other parameters.

According to experts, all this technological advance that is reducing risk On the part of the personnel who work in the front line of the pandemic is unstoppable. However, they warn that it is necessary to include certain ethical controls so that technological progress does not end up getting out of hand. We are at a time when responses are urgent, there is no way to escape that pressure. But we should add certain controls that go beyond the emergency, says Pierre Bourdin. In his opinion, the chains of decisions on the technology to be used against the Covid-19 should include philosophers, historians and professionals from areas other than engineering who help to reflect to avoid disastrous consequences despite good intentions. We feel the danger, and that makes us willing to accept great restrictions of freedom that could have negative consequences in the future, he recalls.

In Jordi Sandalinass opinion, the most important and precious asset of the human being is the right to life, which supposes the legal asset to protect without making distinctions. In that context, any technology intended to save lives is welcome, he says. However, he agrees with Pierre Bourdin by stressing that there are certain limits that should not be exceeded. And he cites as an example the use of drones to detect people, which must be accompanied by an action protocol in accordance with the law. Technology must be protected and regulated by ethical and moral values. We cannot speak of detecting people as if we were speaking of detection of hostile elements. Everything must be studied to the millimetre, he says. The UOC collaborating professor reminds us that we must not forget the right to privacy, to the protection of personal data or the right to life and liberty of people, which are among the fundamental rights and freedoms.

On the other hand, Bourdin asserts that all advances in robotics or artificial intelligence should be solely supportive. In no case can a robot or an algorithm replace a person. The goal is for them to function as support for staff so that they have more time to increase the quality of care. A lesson from the crisis we are going through is, without a doubt, the need for personnel for the health system and public services in general, says the UOC professor.

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