Start-ups in the Philippines are adapting their technology-driven solutions to address challenges in healthcare and public safety brought about by the coronavirus pandemic as the government and private sectors race to combat it.
AccessiWheels, DWARM and Drive technologies—developed at the University of the Philippines Sustaining Collaboration in an Advanced Learning Environment (Upscale) Innovation Hub in UP Diliman—are repurposing their products and services in response to the current health crisis, said the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) in a news release.
AccessiWheels
AccessiWheels is providing transportation to persons with mobility concerns, such as the persons with disabilities.
It has begun offering free services to patients undergoing regular medical procedures, such as dialysis, and to those who have been affected by the suspension of the mass transportation in the Luzon-wide lockdown.
Health-care workers, whose modes of transportation have been limited by the enhanced community quarantine, are also benefiting from the initiative.
To date, over 100 patients and medical workers have availed of AccessiWheels’ services.
DWARM A.I. drones
Meanwhile, DWARM, short for Autonomous Search and Rescue Drone Using Swarm Technology—founded by Far Eastern University (FEU) Tech alumni—is rolling out its artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled drones as noncontact thermal scanners at expressway checkpoints in the country.
Originally designed for search-and-rescue operations in calamities, DWARM has partnered with the DOST-PCIEERD and Upscale Innovation Hub to fabricate six drones to assist efforts in mitigating the spread of Covid-19.
“Our technology was [originally] primarily used for detecting possible survivors in an aftermath of a calamity by using only a thermal camera for the AI programming,” explained Samantha Monique Bautista on FEU web site.
“As a solution for Covid-19, we combined two AI detections—a video camera for the detection of a person and a thermal camera for the recognition of heat signatures. With the new AI, the thermal cameras can now identify a person and measure his temperature,” added Bautista, the lead engineer of DWARM Technologies team.
DOST-PCIEERD plans to deploy the units of DWARM along the checkpoints in both the South Luzon Expressway and the North Luzon Expressway.
This will help drastically reduce queue times as the drones will be able to scan up to 10 persons at a time, immediately flagging anybody with a temperature of 37.5°C to the monitoring staff.
“With the use of DWARM, we aim to help fight Covid-19 by speeding up and improving the precision of thermal scanning at checkpoints and protect our uniformed and medical frontliners by minimizing direct contact to possible carriers,” Bautista, now working on the six units under home quarantine, said.
Drive
At the same time, Drive, a peer-to-peer car rental platform, has pivoted to Drive Groceries.
With restrictions on social movement and strong recommendations for social distancing, Drive Groceries has begun offering delivery services for essential supplies to residents affected by the lockdown.
The company has already started operations in Metro Manila, and aims to serve nearby provinces in the next 90 days.
Upscale
Upscale Innovation Hub is a DOST and UP Diliman’s Technology Business Incubator, which is at the forefront of startup incubation, industry collaborations and capacity building on innovation and technopreneurship.
Upscale is targeting that in the next decade it will be marked with international partnerships and incubating more start-ups addressing real-world challenges, including waste management and transportation, said Upscale in its news release.
Upscale was launched in January 2018 by UP, in partnership with DOST-PCIEERD, to accelerate the launch of innovative technologies through partnerships with private industries, start-ups and startup incubators.
It houses three primary programs, namely: UP Enterprise, an accelerator program for pre-revenue technology start-ups: Industry-Government Network for Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship, a market-driven product development program for industry collaborations; and EntreLead for scaling up program for technology start-ups with initial investment and traction.
In the past two years, Upscale has housed more than 15 incubatees addressing environmental challenges, waste management, transportation and mental health.
It has formed more than six industry partnerships; and provided capacity building for more than 30 higher education institutions on technopreneurship and innovation. S&T Media Service