Two Students build a bot to ensure Covid-19 afflicted families get verified medical leads
New Delhi: As India battles its second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, people are fighting on multiple fronts as there’s also a parallel outburst of fake and misleading information. To solve this challenge, two students – Rahul Raina and Naman Gupta have used tech to solve the problem by developing a Twitter-based ‘Covid India Resource Bot’.
You can tweet your medical requirements to the newly launched chatbot @CovidIndResBot, which replies with resources verified in real-time. Their tech also automates calling to numbers on a database, hence authenticating its legitimacy in real time. From hospital beds, to oxygen cylinders, to medicines, the bot responds to a diverse set of requirements in a timely, verified manner, thereby helping people during these challenging times.
Raina and Gupta are students of School of Accelerated Learning (SOAL), an alternative to university, where they learned Fullstack JavaScript and how to build products. The initiative has taken place under the guidance of SOAL CEO and co-founder Raj Desai. The trio further collaborated with a motley group of developers and startups including The Product Folks, TravelXP & IntroBot to create a unified verified database along with the Twitter bot. This approach ensures that people do not have to spend time calling unreachable numbers, thereby saving critical time at their hour of need.
Speaking on the development, Raj Desai, Co-Founder and CEO, SOAL said, “Today, COVID-19 has led to a simultaneous outbreak of misinformation. Such unverified information needlessly prevents people from getting timely help and support. When it comes to the recovery of a patient, even an hour of early admission can make all the difference. Gen Z are problem solvers. Rahul and Naman have taken the fight where it matters and this will go a long way in saving several lives across India. We also appreciate the support of The Product Folks, Introbot, and TravelXP for their contributions in the initiative.”
Rahul Raina, one of the two students at SOAL who developed the chatbot said, “The COVID-19 outbreak has put excess pressure on our healthcare system. We truly believe that tech can be a force that can be used for good, especially when India’s strength is compromised in both numbers and resources. We are doing our bit to relieve this pressure with the development of COVID resource chatbot and maintaining the authenticity of its database.”
Naman added “It wouldn’t have been possible without the constant support of the SOAL team. This initiative has taught me how to work in a cross-functional, fast-paced ecosystem to decrease the turnaround time in product development. I sincerely hope that our chatbot benefits as many people as possible.”