After a passenger infected with the novel coronavirus boarded the Diamond Princess cruise ship in January, the virus quickly spread, eventually infecting at least 712 and killing seven. Critics labeled the ship quarantined in Yokohama a floating petri dish, and at least one Japanese expert attributed the explosion of cases to food trays passed out by infected crew. Could robots have made a difference? As countries around the world grapple with COVID-19, front line medical workers are deploying robots, telemedicine and other technologies to help contain the pandemic. China and Spain have used drones to monitor people during lockdown campaigns, while South Korea has deployed them to help disinfect areas in Daegu, an epidemic hotspot.

For a few days earlier this week, robots completely took over a smart field hospital in Wuhan, China, set up to offer exhausted human health care workers relief as they care for coronavirus patients nonstop. Other robots -- some humanoid and others your basic, boxy type -- worked 24/7 measuring heart rates and blood oxygen levels via smart bracelets and rings worn by patients. The bots delivered medication, patrolled and cleaned infected areas, led patients in exercises and even performed robo-dances to entertain bored quarantined patients. Cloud Minds Technology, a SoftBank-backed startup based in Beijing that provides cloud-based systems for robots, donated the bots to the hospital, a trial effort set up in a converted sports center in partnership with China Mobile and Wuhan Wuchang Hospital. Medical staff, the flesh and blood kind, directed and controlled the robots remotely via an information management platform that includes a gamified control platform featuring digital twins for each individual robot.