The numbers are what they are, we are not here to spread more bad and frightening news. We´ve been home, like everybody else, we´ve been trying to get into a slightly different routine and new mindset that is needed to overcome this crisis, a situation we like to call a ‘parallel universe’.
We all know the numbers, we all read the news, we all know how it feels like, we feel it on our own skin. More than 1,9 million cases, more than 89 countries on a lock-down… We all fear for our job, our family and friends. We all fear for our status, our economic well-being, we cannot help it. Indeed, many of us have been impacted by the virus on various levels, like saying goodbye temporarily or even definitely to our loved ones… But even if our families and friends are safe and healthy, many of us lost something that was important to us like a job, a summerhouse, a promise of a nice trip to Bali, or the simplest thing like the opportunity to see the sunrise or sunset…
The Covid-19 has shown that we need to think different, we need to act differently. We already have a shifted perception of life as it is. We are hit by the fact that there are things outside of our circle of influence.
On the other hand, it’s an opportunity to improve, change, reveal, and to build on. We are hit by something bigger than us, so challenging that more than 89 countries globally blocked their borders, shut down businesses, locked down their schools and pushed the limits of the sanitary systems, among other. Therefore, innovation and investigation are key to overcome such crisis. It´s time to be even more creative, quicker and more community-centered than ever.
Such wonderful innovations and inventions like
– Tesla’s medical ventilators1,
– Ford and Dyson’s medical supply support kit2,
– Sona Nanotech’s quick-response lateral flow assay for testing and monitoring3,
– Korea’s covid testing kit via AI4,
– and whole sectors like additive manufacturing shifted their mindset to support the medical urgency5, just to name a few examples.
Covid-19 revealed a crucial and drastic urge to innovate in the healthcare sector, make it more approachable, more reliable and more efficient than ever.
And why our The Smart Lollipop team shares this reflection on Covid? We want to share our honest deepest empathy and gratitude to all the innovators, healers, collaborators and great thinkers who have chosen to take a productive and fearless approach to all this. Also, we want to show that we care and we are working hard towards joining the pool of innovators who disrupt and improve everything we know today.
List of reference:
1. Huddleston Jr, Tom. “Tesla engineers are building ventilators for coronavirus patients out of car parts—take a look” CNBC, 6 Apr. 2020,
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/06/video-tesla-building-ventilators-for-covid-19-patients-from-car-parts.html
2. Beech, Peter “These new gadgets were designed to fight COVID-19” World Economic Forum, 5 Apr. 2020,
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-covid19-pandemic-gadgets-innovation-technology
3. Kent, Chloe “Different paths to the same destination: screening for Covid-19” Verdict Medical Devices, 3 Apr. 2020,
https://www.medicaldevice-network.com/features/types-of-covid-19-test-antibody-pcr-antigen
4. ITU News “COVID-19: How Korea is using innovative technology and AI to flatten the curve” ITU News, 2 Apr. 2020,
https://news.itu.int/covid-19-how-korea-is-using-innovative-technology-and-ai-to-flatten-the-curve/
5. Blake, Rich “Advanced Manufacturing’s Moment: Making Supplies For The War On COVID-19” Forbes, 3 Apr. 2020,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/richblake1/2020/04/03/advanced-manufacturings-moment-making-supplies-for-the-war-on-covid-19/#3b350b832d1b
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