As the United States becomes the epicentre of the COVID-19 disease they are struggling to supply enough test to stay ahead of this thing. They have nearly at 370,000 cases – at the time of writing – and there seems to be no end in sight. Technology companies are try to assist as much as possible by utilising their expertise. A clinic in Jacksonville, Florida is using self-driving vehicles to carry COVID-19 tests from a drive-thru location.
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The aim here is to deliver COVID-19 tests as quickly as possible, but also as safely as possible with minimal human contact. The initiative minimises exposure while also freeing up medical personnel to assist patience more. Four self-driving vehicles have been running the route since the end of March.
With autonomous vehicles not yet a proven technology, these vehicles still need to be supervised. However, there isn’t someone in the shuttle to make sure it is driving safely – there is a human-driven SUV tailing it at all times. They can monitor the systems on the shuttle remotely and can also oversee the loading of transportation coolers from a distance.
This initiative is being run by the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, the Transportation Authority, Beep and Navya. The partners all monitor the service from a command centre, and make minor adjustments remotely where needed. The SUV’s that tail the delivery vehicle also makes sure that there are no cars or other traffic that could “impact the delivery path” of the self-driving vehicles.
There are plans to roll out this kind of technology to other areas, but it won’t become widespread anytime soon. With many places around the United States and the world in lockdown during the COVID-19 containment efforts, this may be a say time to test and prove the technology while assisting with the many and wide-ranging needs of citizens during this time.
