One year ago, Intel launched the Pandemic Response Technology Initiative (PRTI), a $50 million commitment to use technology to combat the effects of COVID-19. The PRTI sought to maximize impact with a 360-degree view of the challenges in healthcare, education and the economy at multiple levels.

Our goal was to provide immediate relief where it was needed most, develop innovative solutions to support the new normal and invest in technology that would limit the impact of future crises. Nearly every piece of Intel technology was leveraged in some way. This map shows all 230 PRTI projects globally. Scroll down to explore a selection of PRTI projects from across health and life sciences, education and economic recovery.

You can read more about the projects discussed in this graphic here.

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam

In early days of the pandemic, hospitals were overwhelmed in terms of just diagnosing COVID-19 due to a shortage of tests. Intel partners stepped up to use medical imaging equipment, like CT machines and X-ray machines, to fill the gap for diagnosis using artificial intelligence (AI). These smart machines can analyze patient films and determine the presence and severity of COVID-19. The solution has paved the way for organizations to create diverse datasets for more accurate diagnoses. UC San Francisco is leveraging Intel® Software Guard Extensions to deploy a confidential computing platform that will help protect both the algorithms and privacy of healthcare data when building AI models.

Telehealth and remote care solutions are critical to treating COVID-19. With Medtronic, Intel® NUC Mini PCs were used to build remote ventilators so doctors could monitor multiple ventilated patients at a time without risking exposure. Banner Health, VeeMed and Intel worked together to augment existing in-room displays with an Intel NUC Mini PC running telehealth software. Providers and specialists were able to offer critical consultative support for COVID-19 patients, remotely speak to patients, check data from in-room monitors and even Zoom in for visual exams.

Investing in research and therapeutic development is crucial if we want to prevent the spread of future viruses. Our partnership with University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign to develop AVX-512 optimizations for the NAMD scalable molecular dynamics code will speed up the study of viruses and accelerate research into treatments. The Berlin Institute of Health leveraged Intel®-based high performance computing (HPC) architecture to successfully perform compute-intensive RNA sequencing on a single-cell level to better understand how the novel coronavirus works.

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Philippines, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States

The PRTI was presented with many opportunities for distributing laptops and bolstering connectivity in communities around the world. With the Intel Online Learning Initiative, we were able to serve a million students globally, including students at Aberdeen High School in Northeast Mississippi. With our partners CDW and First Book, we provided laptops to the Airforce JROTC program to allow students to continue with the program and practice and progress in AP computer science outside the lab.

However, learning remotely isn’t the same as learning in the classroom, and students need engaging content to progress. Our Houston Space Center partnership to create a new public program focused on virtual learning content around NASA’s Artemis mission to the moon in 2024 and future NASA missions. Finally, a partnership with the NBA and Learn Fresh yielded an NBA Math Hoops game to make learning math more fun through a physical to digital experience transformation.

As education evolves, we wanted to ensure students are not disconnected from their teachers. With Intel’s help, District Zero, a Chicago-based company that focuses on wellness-based learning, is using natural language processing and sentiment analysis to provide emotional support for students. This emotional learning tool and dashboard gives teachers actionable insights and solutions to help students who may be struggling.

Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, United States

To protect patrons and essential workers, the PRTI invested in several projects designed to make buildings safer during the pandemic, including AI-enabled occupancy and social distancing monitoring with Johnson Controls. The solution trades human observation of social distancing for environmental data and sensors to optimize air quality and physical distancing analysis.

We also invested in adapting existing processes for longer-term benefits to public health. Our partner GE Aviation developed a new predictive maintenance application for cabin air quality to help airline carriers proactively monitor the health of air quality systems on their flights.

By enabling totally new technologies, we hope to support a future that is more resilient against viral outbreaks. With funding from Intel, Purdue University is developing autonomous robots that can detect and disinfect against targeted pathogens within seconds. Two test robots and six patents later, the college is moving forward with commercialization opportunities. The hope is that this work will help make public spaces cleaner and safer and minimize the germ-spread from high-traffic areas.

What comes next

One of the key drivers of success for the PRTI were the scores of Intel experts working with partners to understand the heart of the issues and provide tailored solutions that would yield real results. Aligned with Intel’s RISE 2030 goals, we are transitioning the PRTI program and the technical expertise of our employee volunteers to the Intel RISE Technology Initiative (IRTI). The IRTI will continue to review and fund projects related to healthcare, education and the economy with new dedicated workstreams for social equity and human rights, accessibility, and climate action. Expect this map to grow as those projects come to fruition.