When the U.S. began locking down to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Amazon, grocery stores, and wholesale stores like Costco saw an enormous uptick in consumers wanting to buy a few select items. On Amazon, during the week of April 12th to 18th, the top ten search queries were face masks and N95 masks, hand sanitizer, paper products like paper towels and toilet paper, and sanitizing solutions like Lysol spray and Clorox wipes. So many people bought face masks that April's new #1 selling product on Amazon was "Face Mask, Pack of 50". This trend occurred across every single consumer- and business-facing industry and vertical. Consumers started behaving erratically literally overnight, and they haven't stopped behaving abnormally, creating a massive problem for companies who employ artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning models.

Artificial intelligence and robotics experts in Edinburgh are working to create what they hope will be the first healthcare robots to hold a conversation with more than one person at a time. It is a project designed to help older people, but it could one day be used to help handle virus outbreaks like the coronavirus pandemic. "It's not something we had actually considered while designing the project," says Heriot-Watt's professor of computer science Oliver Lemon. "But as it turns out it's quite relevant to what's going on today. "You can imagine in the future that when you walk into a hospital waiting room, instead of encountering a human you encounter a robot who's able to help you.

The coronavirus has hurt many companies in China and around the world. Neolix, a driverless delivery business based in Beijing, isn't among them -- in fact, it's seen a jump in demand. The startup, which has attracted customers including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Meituan Dianping and JD.Com Inc., has booked orders for more than 200 vehicles in the past two months; before then, it had only produced 125 units since manufacturing began last May, founder Yu Enyuan said in an interview. Amid the virus anxiety that has disrupted businesses and supply chains, China's push into autonomous transport and the future of delivery is getting an unexpected boost. Neolix's small vans help customers reduce physical contact and address labor shortages caused by lingering quarantines and travel restrictions. Neolix's inventories have been depleted during the epidemic as its vehicles have been used to deliver medical supplies in hospitals, including in Wuhan, at the outbreak's epicenter.