i3 - May/June 2020 - 15

KEEPING CONNECTIONS OPEN

The tech
industry
responds to
the COVID-19
pandemic.
By Natalie Hope McDonald

By the time the pandemic shut down communities
worldwide, it became clear that the tech industry
was in a unique position to respond. In many cases,
it would mean appropriating tools in relevant ways.
For example, WHO began using WhatsApp, a
messenger service that allows users to exchange text,
video and images, to reach more people with facts
about the virus, while tools like Silicon Valley's Zoom
(which went from hosting 10 million video conferences per day to 200 million) was revamped for both
personal and professional meetings (hello, virtual
happy hour). It was the same for Vancouver-based
Slack, which has expanded from a professional video
conferencing tool to a lifeline for families and friends
who are physically distancing.
Literally the world's most popular tech business
tools had suddenly become great equalizers for connecting people during the worldwide lockdown.
The overwhelming response of manufacturers
and service providers is being driven by innovation
and leaders inspired to solve complex challenges.
As new relationships are established between users
and their tools, these experiences could ultimately
change how people think about technology for years
to come.

REAL SOLUTIONS

response to worldwide shortages. Some of the innovations were
as basic as printing tools like swabs to test people for the virus.
Formlabs began working with Northwell Health and
University of South Florida on the production of coronavirus
test swabs in March when it became clear that there was a shortage of test kit components.
"We worked with a team at USF Health who created the initial
design to develop prototypes printed with Surgical Guide, a biocompatible, sterilizable material from Formlabs," says
Manchanda. The swabs are flexible sticks that are inserted
inside a patient's nose.
These swabs, which were developed in one week, were successfully tested and green-lit so that they could be quickly fabricated at an Ohio-based printing facility. "With our fleet of close
to 200 3D printers onsite," says Manchanda, "we can produce
more than 100,000 swabs a day at peak capacity."
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i3_0520_Feature_Covid.indd 15

In some cases, the global response has meant giving
people free access to technology and repurposing
goods and services, while funding massive response
efforts more locally.
For example, Zello, a push-to-talk voice messaging
service based in Austin, enables collaboration between
workers and the communities they serve. Unlike traditional radio transmission, Zello functions on any
cellular network or Wi-Fi connection. The assistance
has proven vital for communities that are hardest hit
by the virus.
Bill Moore, CEO of Zello, says early in this pandemic the company anticipated pressures on hospital and first responder systems that could hamper
life-saving work. Zello decided to make its solution
available "in an effort to help curb the strain on these
systems," he says.
It's helping first responders strapped for both
funding and manpower during this crisis, like
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