“In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity”, this unverified quote, often attributed to Albert Einstein, is a hopeful statement in those early months of 2020. While, the dramatic human and economic costs of the COVID-19 crisis are still unraveling, there is at the same time the immense human push to create the path out of this crisis, to challenge our habitual patterns, and to envision solutions for the future. This drive towards innovation is very apparent in the area of intelligent environments, where we see an increased movement towards solution that support the monitoring of individual and public health, that massively expand the scope of data collection for societal benefits, ultimately trying to rebuild trust between people and nations, as well as accelerating the way to a new normal. In this work I will provide an overview of the most recent developments of innovative solutions in intelligent environment technologies and how those support the current efforts to overcome the global COVID-19 health crisis.