Technology-driven initiatives to combat coronavirus pandemic

5 minutes, 31 seconds read

Published on Apr 13, 2020

The deadly outbreak of the pandemic, coronavirus has claimed more than 110,000 lives and infected over 18,30,000 people worldwide. While the government chalks out COVID-19 risk mitigation plans, including social distancing, healthcare advisories, remote working and quarantine the infected; many organizations are taking technology initiatives to provide visualization and real-time situational awareness along with ways to run the lives of daily wagers.

To curb the spread of infection the entire nation has been subjected to rigorous lockdown. Unaccounted migration of daily wagers has made ghost settlements a recurring feature. Business tycoons say it is a daunting task to keep thousands of engineers safe while ensuring business continuity. This situation may affect the global economy because of supply chain, production, oil prices, currency and interest rate fluctuations. According to estimates, the economic cost of the pandemic would be over $4 trillion.

As the world gears up to combat this crisis of unforeseen magnitude, researchers, businesses, and innovators around the world are putting technology to work to mitigate the effects of the global health crisis. From using big data to understand the virus’ genetic tree, to keeping hospitals afloat with telemedicine; countries are trying every tip and trick in the book to contain the disease and provide a pattern amidst pandemonium.

Here is a list of technology-driven initiatives taken worldwide to combat the corona pandemic.

Aarogya Setu App

The Aarogya Setu application is the Government of India initiative to bring essential health services available to people. The most commonly used technology by the government is tracking people’s whereabouts through the location information on their cell phones; which in this crucial time has proven to be a means to restrain the spread of coronavirus. Using this technology this application alerts you when COVID-19 infected people are around. It also gives a detailed view of where the patient was before quarantine and who were in close proximity with them.

The app aims at amplifying the services of the Department of Health, in proactively reaching out to and informing the users of the app regarding risks, best practices and relevant health advisories related to the confinement of COVID-19 virus.

COVID Symptom Tracker & Corona 100m

C-19 COVID Symptom Tracker, an application developed by a UK startup, helps people self report their symptoms of coronavirus. It also helps to identify high-risk areas. It uses data science and machine learning models to study the data provided by the masses and identify those at risk sooner.

The corona 100m, application by South Korea maps the whereabout of a corona positive patient and alerts the user when the infected person is within the reach of 100m.

China is using AI-powered thermal cameras on drones to enable contactless and rapid temperature detection in a crowd. This helps to identify those who have a fever. They have also deployed facial recognition systems to screen out people not wearing masks in public.

WHO Health Alert

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a dedicated messaging service, the WHO Health Alert chatbot to provide information about coronavirus, answers to frequently asked questions about the disease, the current infection rates and preventive measures to be taken against it.

The service is available in 7 different languages such as English, French, Hindi, Arabic, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. People can activate conversation related to COVID-19 facts by simply typing a ‘hi’ to +41 79 893 18 92 on WhatsApp.

Video Calling Apps to keep Business as Usual.

With this pandemic taking a toll on the day to day business, companies are trying hard to keep employees safe with options like remote working and using tech tools to collaborate. As the world continues to fight the pandemic, flatten the curve and try to maintain normalcy by working from home. To deal with this containment and yet keeping it business as usual, video calling applications have become the most essential tools.

Read to know more about how Enterprises investing in Workplace Mobility Can Survive Pandemics.

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The popular video calling applications like Skype, WhatsApp, Google Hangouts, Duo, Webex and Zoom, received approximately 600,000 downloads in one day. There has been a 70% increase in activity in Facebook Messenger’s video call functionality since the beginning of the outbreak.

Relief Fund for Daily Wagers

Due to this lockdown, as the economic activities of the country grind to a halt; millions of underdeveloped regions face penury and deprivation. With the lockdown suspending all kinds of work, daily wage workers are the ones to suffer the most. However to provide some relief to this horrifying situation, tech companies like Swiggy, Zomato and Ola have reached out to help.

Ola’s Drive the Driver’s Fund is to offer relief to the driver community. It provides financial assistance for essential supplies and emergency support.

Whereas Swiggy and Zomato are taking donations on their app and feeding India without involving a middle man. The financial help directly reaches the labours.

MyGov Corona Helpdesk

To mitigate the spread of fake news and offer immediate information related to coronavirus, the government of India has launched an official helpdesk, called MyGov Corona Helpdesk. One can initiate the conversation by simply texting a ‘hi’ to 9013151515 on Whatsapp.

Government of India initiative to create awareness and support individuals against coronavirus crisis

The government has also taken to other social media platforms such as Youtube, Facebook messenger, Linked In, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook Page and Telegram App to spread awareness and prevent the spreading of coronavirus.

Corporate technology-driven initiatives

Coronavirus Helpline India

ACKO, an Indian general insurance firm has created a portal – Coronavirus Helpline India to connect the government and common mass. It has listed all state wise essential helpline numbers, FAQs and important news related to coronavirus outbreak in India.

Lockdown Helping Hands

MantraLabs has taken the initiative to create a platform for people all over India to share their problems. The platform Lockdown Helping Hands is an effort to give voice to those who need help at this crucial hour of need. Others can directly share their, or other person’s problem on the portal. Using the share option, one can post the issue on various social sites to amplify the voices to reach the ears of the respective authority. The platform also provides state-wise helpful links, essential contact numbers and list of shops that are providing home delivery.

Due to the lockdown, there are several people far away from their loved ones, and struggling for help and information. There are many groups of people volunteering and ready to assist senior citizens, new mothers, physically challenged and people with medical conditions get access to basic daily essentials & medicines. Let us also do our bit and help lend a hand of help at this hour of need.

#StayHome #StaySafe

Smart Manufacturing starts with real-time visibility.

Manufacturing companies today generate data by the second through sensors, machines, ERP systems, and MES platforms. But without real-time insights, even the most advanced production lines are essentially flying blind.

Manufacturers are implementing real-time dashboards that serve as control towers for their daily operations, enabling them to shift from reactive to proactive decision-making. These tools are essential to the evolution of Smart Manufacturing, where connected systems, automation, and intelligent analytics come together to drive measurable impact.

Data is available, but what’s missing is timely action.

For many plant leaders and COOs, one challenge persists: operational data is dispersed throughout systems, delayed, or hidden in spreadsheets. And this delay turns into a liability.

Real-time dashboards help uncover critical answers:

What caused downtime during last night’s shift?
Was there a delay in maintenance response?
Did a specific inventory threshold trigger a quality issue?

By converting raw inputs into real-time manufacturing analytics, dashboards make operational intelligence accessible to operators, supervisors, and leadership alike, enabling teams to anticipate problems rather than react to them.

1. Why Static Reports Fall Short

Reports often arrive late—after downtime, delays, or defects have occurred.
Disconnected data across ERP, MES, and sensors limits cross-functional insights.
Static formats lack embedded logic for proactive decision support.

2. What Real-Time Dashboards Enable

Line performance and downtime trends
Track OEE in real time and identify underperforming lines.

Predictive maintenance alerts
Utilize historical and sensor data to identify potential part failures in advance.

Inventory heat maps & reorder thresholds
Anticipate stockouts or overstocks based on dynamic reorder points.

Quality metrics linked to operator actions
Isolate shifts or procedures correlated with spikes in defects or rework.

These insights allow production teams to drive day-to-day operations in line with Smart Manufacturing principles.

3. Dashboards That Drive Action

Role-based dashboards
Dashboards can be configured for machine operators, shift supervisors, and plant managers, each with a tailored view of KPIs.

Embedded alerts and nudges
Real-time prompts, like “Line 4 below efficiency threshold for 15+ minutes,” reduce response times and minimize disruptions.

Cross-functional drill-downs
Teams can identify root causes more quickly because users can move from plant-wide overviews to detailed machine-level data in seconds.

4. What Powers These Dashboards

Data lakehouse integration
Unified access to ERP, MES, IoT sensor, and QA systems—ensuring reliable and timely manufacturing analytics.

ETL pipelines
Real-time data ingestion from high-frequency sources with minimal latency.

Visualization tools
Custom builds using Power BI, or customized solutions designed for frontline usability and operational impact.

Smart Manufacturing in Action: Reducing Market Response Time from 48 Hours to 30 Minutes

Mantra Labs partnered with a North American die-casting manufacturer to unify its operational data into a real-time dashboard. Fragmented data, manual reporting, delayed pricing decisions, and inconsistent data quality hindered operational efficiency and strategic decision-making.

Tech Enablement:

Centralized Data Hub with real-time access to critical business insights.
Automated report generation with data ingestion and processing.
Accurate price modeling with real-time visibility into metal price trends, cost impacts, and customer-specific pricing scenarios.
Proactive market analysis with intuitive Power BI dashboards and reports.

Business Outcomes:

Faster response to machine alerts
Quality incidents traced to specific operator workflows
4X faster access to insights led to improved inventory optimization.

As this case shows, real-time dashboards are not just operational tools—they’re strategic enablers.

(Learn More: Powering the Future of Metal Manufacturing with Data Engineering)

Key Takeaways: Smart Manufacturing Dashboards at a Glance

Aspect	What You Should Know
1. Why Static Reports Fall Short	Delayed insights after issues occur Disconnected systems (ERP, MES, sensors) No real-time alerts or embedded decision logic
2. What Real-Time Dashboards Enable	Track OEE and downtime in real-time Predictive maintenance using sensor data Dynamic inventory heat maps Quality linked to operators
3. Dashboards That Drive Action	Role-based views (operator to CEO) Embedded alerts like “Line 4 down for 15+ mins” Drilldowns from plant-level to machine-level
4. What Powers These Dashboards	Unified Data Lakehouse (ERP + IoT + MES) Real-time ETL pipelines Power BI or custom dashboards built for frontline usability

Conclusion

Smart Manufacturing dashboards aren’t just analytics tools—they’re productivity engines. Dashboards that deliver real-time insight empower frontline teams to make faster, better decisions—whether it’s adjusting production schedules, triggering preventive maintenance, or responding to inventory fluctuations.