Mother of invention: the new gadgets dreamt up to fight coronavirus

Entrepreneurs Matthew Toles and Joseph Toles, co-founders of the company Slightly Robot, showing smartbands, the Immutouch, which buzz when the wearer's hand goes near their face, to prevent spreading the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), in Seattle, US. — Immutouch/Handout/Reuters

LONDON/OAKLAND/BUCHAREST: Driving to work at his factory to the west of London last week, designer Steve Brooks had coronavirus on his mind. What could he make that would let him open a door without touching the handle?

"Everyone has to use their little finger or find the bit of the door that nobody's touched," said the designer and owner at DDB Ltd, a company which makes office furniture. So he produced a hook to do the job.