PPB June 2020

TECH TALK Robots Deliver Medical Supplies To California Hospitals A small fleet of delivery robots, produced by startup Nuro, transports medical supplies to health-care facilities. S helter-in-place mandates in California this spring forced self- driving car companies to temporarily close their operations. However, Nuro, a Mountain View, California-based robotics startup founded by two former Google engineers, retrofitted its operations to instead use its self-driving robots to transport essentials to two local health-care facilities. Before the pandemic, the company focused on grocery and food delivery in Arizona and Texas. Using its R2 prototype vehicles, which are lightweight, electronic and driverless, the company brought essential items, including food, personal protective equipment, clean bedding and other suppliers to frontline workers at the Event Center in San Mateo and the Sleep Train Arena, both of which were converted into health-care facilities to manage the influx of COVID-19 patients. The robots were initially designed to be loaded and unloaded by human workers, but to make the process free of any physical contact, Nuro made it possible for workers to give a thumbs- up to the robot’s camera, signifying to a company operator to remotely open its doors. Both robots are legally permitted to drive on roadways, and were programmed to drive on private roads to lower the likelihood of unexpected problems. And although they are able to travel at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour, the robots were programmed to travel five miles per hour outdoors and 2.5 miles per hour indoors. Although the leaders behind Nuro have stated that self-driving robots will not resolve the challenges caused by coronavirus, it will certainly help to relieve some aspects of it. By using these robots at the two facilities, there was less of a need for health-care workers to travel back and forth between facilities, and for outside workers to physically transport the goods, further reducing the chances of spreading or contracting the virus. Danielle Renda is associate editor of PPB . WATERCOOLER Twitter Study Shows What Consumers Want FromBrands As the social media platform changes its advertising policies, it also looked to better understand what consumers are expecting from the brands they love. W ith businesses nationwide seeking direction on how to connect with consumers during COVID-19, Twitter shared the results of new research it used to inform its updated COVID-19 advertising policy. To better understand consumer sentiment, the social media platform asked a panel of Twitter users in the U.S. how they felt about advertising during the pandemic. Nearly eight in 10 respondents (77 percent) said they feel more positive about brands making an effort to support society during COVID-19, and 64 percent said brands should continue advertising products and services as normal. And though more than half (52 percent) of respondents said that seeing and hearing advertisements gives them a sense of normalcy, only seven percent said that brands should continue using their normal voice during this time, indicating that consumers feel brands should adjust their marketing to reflect a level of awareness. Respondents were also asked what brands can do that would be useful as the world recovers from COVID-19. Nearly nine out of 10 participants (89 percent) said brands should communicate reliable, accurate information, and 86 percent said brands should make an effort to support disadvantaged members of the community. Further, 82 percent of respondents said brands should support front-line health-care workers, 80 percent said brands should show how they are supporting their employees, 77 percent said brands should support their local communities and 70 percent said they should provide prompt customer service. Seventy-four percent of participants also noted that brands should showcase acts of kindness, and similarly, 70 percent said brands should boost positivity by sharing positive stories. 84 | JUNE 2020 | THINK