Engineering Likely to Play Big Role in Coronavirus Strategies

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    It is probably safe to say that the realities of coronavirus will be with us for years to come. Until the world can control it in the same way diseases like polio and malaria are controlled, a certain portion of the world’s medical and economic consciousness will be dedicated to keeping an eye on coronavirus moving forward. Engineering is likely to play a crucial role in all of it.

    We normally think of engineering in terms of building roads and bridges. We think of things like mechanical and structural engineering. However, there is also physics, chemistry, and biomedical engineering. Even electrical engineering needs to be considered as the world develops its coronavirus strategies.

    Advanced Testing Equipment

    If there’s one thing we’ve learned in recent weeks, it is the fact that our current testing capabilities are insufficient. Tests for both the coronavirus and its resulting antigens are far from accurate. This needs to change. If we are ever to truly get a handle on the real threat posed by coronavirus, we need to have a nearly foolproof method of testing.

    Developing new testing equipment and methods will require biomedical engineering. Where testing equipment is electronic in nature, electrical engineering will be involved. Essentially every aspect of developing coronavirus diagnostic equipment will rely on some sort of engineering.

    Solutions from Startups

    Rock West Solutions, a company that provides complete engineering services specializing in sensor development, data analysis and signal processing, says that today’s business environment is a lot more favorable for developing new equipment and strategies as compared to the past.

    Startups with great ideas no longer have to submit those ideas to big corporations in order to get them developed. They can contract with companies like Rock West to provide complete engineering services from the ground up, maintaining complete control over their intellectual property.

    This matters because startups are often the source of great innovation. Startups also bring competition to the equation, competition that could prove very valuable in the fight against coronavirus. What we need is innovation and risk-taking. That is what startups are known for.

    Better Data Analysis

    Testing equipment and methods will be a good start, but we must go much further. We must figure out ways to collect relevant data, analyze it, and use it to create actionable strategies for the future. In other words, dealing with coronavirus in the future must be based on data rather than conjecture or fear.

    Once again, engineering services will play a key role here. Companies like Rock West rely on engineering to develop signal processing and data analysis technologies. They are going to have to come up with solutions specific to the coronavirus model if the results are to be useful.

    For example, there is some legitimacy in comparing coronavirus with the flu. But such comparisons only go so far. Individual viruses behave differently. They have different impacts on the human body. They spread differently, mutate differently, and so on. What we need is comprehensive signal processing and data analysis to figure this all out.

    Short-Term Coronavirus Management

    While we work on strategies for the future, engineering services are now being utilized to manage our exposure to the virus in the short term. Engineering companies are being asked to develop strategies for keeping people apart. They are being asked to design new systems and build new equipment to facilitate the free movement of people while keeping them apart. It is no easy task.

    Coronavirus has forever changed society. But as with so many other seminal points in history, engineering services will play a significant role in helping us adapt.