DUBAI: Robots can act as an interface between a doctor and a patient wherein they can carry out diagnostic and treatment processes, reducing the human contact and risk of transmission of infection during the coronavirus pandemic, an expert in the field of Robotics has said. Bartlomiej Stanczyk, Robotics Engineer with ACCREA Engineering in Germany, was speaking during an e-discussion on the the topic- Using Artificial Intelligence to Tackle Epidemics: The COVID-19 Model. The event, organised by the Abu Dhabi-based TRENDS Research & Advisory, brought together leading experts from around the world who deliberated on the importance of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and other technologies in the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 that has infected more than 3.8 million people and killed over 260,000 people across the world. Stanczyk said that robots could help doctors keep a safe distance from the patient by using probes and other remote medical equipment. "We aim to build a completely autonomous diagnostician through robotics, thus enabling the transfer of the skill from the human doctor on the machine carrying out the treatment," he said.

From here on Earth to up in space, the next two weeks of our Social-Distancing Socials are covering it all. Thursday, May 21: Will We Ever Fly Again? This pandemic is making armchair epidemiologists out of us all. Every morning we roll out of bed to yet another science-adjacent article shared by everyone and their great-aunt. But premature reporting on scientific studies can threaten public health.

It's very rare to see any travel video or brochure these days that doesn't have an image shot from overhead, on a drone. Life seems more dramatic up from above, right? The units themselves have gotten way easier to use, more affordable and the camera quality is pretty amazing. Imagine being able to throw a high-quality camera in the air that can get stunning overhead shots, smooth video even in wind and always somehow return home to sender. It's one of the major tech advancements of our time, but it can be a little confusing.

David Ferrucci, the man who built IBM's Jeopardy-playing machine, Watson, is explaining a children's story to his new creation. In the tale, Fernando and Zoey buy some plants. Fernando places his plant on a windowsill while Zoey tucks hers away in a darkened room. After a few days, Fernando's plant is green and healthy but the leaves of Zoey's have browned. She moves her plant to the windowsill, and it flourishes.

Norwegian scientists have developed an app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help combat migraines. A daily training session of 10 minutes with this app could reduce migraine attacks in a lot of patients, according to the researchers. One in seven people suffer from migraines and one in a hundred suffer from chronic headaches. Traditional migraine medications help some people but often have side effects. This medication is in principle no longer a necessity when using the app.

Far from barking its orders, a robot dog enlisted by Singapore authorities to help curb coronavirus infections in the city-state politely asks joggers and cyclists to stay apart. The remote-controlled, four-legged machine built by Boston Dynamics was first deployed in a central park on Friday as part of a two-week trial that could see it join other robots policing Singapore's green spaces during a nationwide lockdown. "Let's keep Singapore healthy," the yellow and black robodog named Spot said in English as it roamed around. "For your own safety and for those around you, please stand at least one metre apart. Thank you," it added, in a softly-spoken female voice.

Roughly a year ago, we wrote "What machine learning means for software development." In that article, we talked about Andrej Karpathy's concept of Software 2.0. Karpathy argues that we're at the beginning of a profound change in the way software is developed. Up until now, we've built systems by carefully and painstakingly telling systems exactly what to do, instruction by instruction. The process is slow, tedious, and error-prone; most of us have spent days staring at a program that should work, but doesn't. And most of us have been surprised when some program that has been reliable for some time suddenly screws up at some slightly unexpected input.

"A significant limitation of most soft robots is that they have to be attached to a bulky air compressor or plugged into a wall, which prevents them from moving," said Nathan Usevitch, a graduate student in mechanical engineering at Stanford. "So, we wondered: What if we kept the same amount of air within the robot all the time?" From that starting point, the researchers ended up with a human-scale soft robot that can change its shape, allowing it to grab and handle objects and roll in controllable directions. Their invention is described in a paper published March 18 in Science Robotics. "The casual description of this robot that I give to people is Baymax from the movie Big Hero 6 mixed with Transformers. In other words, a soft, human-safe robot mixed with robots that can dramatically change their shape," said Usevitch.

With inmates huddled together in closely-knitted cells inside prisons, it is little wonder then that these facilities are vulnerable to COVID-19 outbreaks. Coupled with the apathetic approach towards the health and well-being of those incarcerated, managing a pandemic of this scale has been more challenging, particularly in containment zones. Some measures that are being considered to stymie the spread of this virus in correctional facilities involve steps to bring down the population behind bars. This may include modification in the norms to shift some prisoners to home confinement, release first-time offenders or those caught for non-violent offences, or even temporarily release those who have served a majority of their sentence already. Furthermore, many inmates have underlying health conditions, making them more susceptible to severe COVID-19 symptoms.

South Korea will make artificial intelligence and wireless communications centerpieces of what it is touting as a "New Deal" to create jobs and boost growth after the coronavirus pandemic subsides. The government, in a statement Thursday, said it will promote AI and fifth-generation wireless technology to support the economy once the virus is brought under control. The statement said funding would come from a third emergency budget being drafted now and from annual budgets through 2022, but didn't specify the amount. Korea's first two extra budgets already amount to biggest sum in decades President Moon Jae-in, after last month's big election victory, said his government would pursue large-scale state projects to boost jobs and innovation in the post-virus era. He compared his vision to the New Deal launched by President Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s to help the U.S. recover from the Great Depression.