Robots could patrol to enforce social distancing at tourist hotspots this summer, EU suggests
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We’ll be living in the future if artificial intelligence is ultimately deployed across tourist hotspots this summer, with robots potentially patrolling to help enforce safe social distancing and more as the coronavirus pandemic continue, as the European Union (EU) has suggested.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Wednesday, the European Union revealed a plan to help citizens of the 27 member states salvage their summer vacation plans and hopefully revive tourism to Europe, to some degree, amid the global COVID-19 health crisis, the Associated Press reports.
Leaders in Brussels, Belgium, are reportedly considering the idea of using artificial intelligence and robotics to monitor tourism. (iStock)
In this March photo, a man riding a bicycle takes photographs in a virtually empty Grand Place in Brussels. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
According to the Daily Express, leaders in Brussels have recommended the use of artificial intelligence to monitor social distancing rules at busy hubs like airports, resorts and popular attractions. The Sun even claimed that this artificial intelligence, which would include robots, may be deployed to disinfect public spaces and run smart booking systems.
"Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics can also help [to monitor] physical distancing in line with data protection law or facilitating disinfection, especially in places with regular tourism flows," reads a plan revealed by the EU this week.
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Though the Belgian capital’s plans are voluntary, other member states may adopt similar measures in a bid to boost Europe’s badly battered tourism industry.
In this March photo, a black crow flies over in the deserted Louvre museum courtyard in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Additional measures laid out by the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, offered advice for lifting ID checks on quickly closed borders; aiding airlines, ferries and buses to resume more operations while protecting the safety of passengers and crew; and preparing additional health measures for hotels to reassure clients.
Gondoliers chat as they wait for customers near St. Mark's square in Venice. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
“This is not going to be a normal summer, not for any of us. But when we all work together, and we all do our part ... then we don’t have to face a summer stuck at home or a complete lost summer for the European tourist industry,” Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager said of the guidelines.
To date, about 150,000 people have died in Europe and Britain since the novel coronavirus surfaced in northern Italy in February. As the spread of the viral disease tapers off, however, some Europeans are cautiously venturing out of confinement to slowly return to school and work.
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As the Associated Press notes, however, that the EU's guidelines were more akin to suggestions rather than actual rules, meaning it would be up to the member countries themselves to decide how tourism would operate.
“Faced with a disease about which much is still unknown, national capitals have tended to go it alone, and they — not the EU Commission — have the final say over health and security matters," wrote the Associated Press.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.