Robot wows students during safety lessons
dubai — The Dubai Municipality (DM) has introduced a “smart way” to teach students how to ‘duck, cover and hold’ in case of an earthquake or major shaking.
RoboThespian, a humanoid programmed by the DM as a robot safety instructor, has been making rounds of various schools in Dubai to promote earthquake preparedness and teach students what actions to take during and after a seismic event.
“RoboThespian adds a wow factor whenever we talk to students about safety. It definitely steals the show wherever it goes,” Dr Kamal Mohamed Abou Elenean, DM senior earthquake specialist, told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Dubai International Government Achievements Exhibition at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Tuesday.
“There is a preconceived notion that talking about safety is boring. That’s why we want to be more creative. The humanoid helps our discussion make less boring and it attracts interaction from the students,” he added.
“Our objective in getting the services of RoboThespian is to help students not to panic during a seismic event. RoboThespian has been updated with the technical knowledge to explain in simple terms what to do during an emergency,” Dr Kamal underlined.
“RoboThespian is interactive and is designed for human interaction in a public environment. It has natural intelligence that captivates and instructs students how to stay safe during an earthquake,” he added.
The humanoid acquired by the DM for around $80,000 (Dh293,000) is currently programmed in Arabic language only but officials said it will also be calibrated to speak in English and other languages.
Dr Kamal said although there is no seismic hazard or only little probability that an earthquake will happen in the UAE, there is still ground motion intensity whenever a major earthquake occurs in southern Iran or Pakistan.
“These two countries are our seismic sources which can cause some shaking in high rise buildings in Dubai. So, whether you’re at home, in a classroom, or a high-rise building, it is still very important to know how to protect yourself during an earthquake,” Dr Kamal explained. He added that RoboThespian also promotes DM’s B-Safe app (available on iTunes and Google store) which sends out notifications for general earthquake and preparedness information.
“The app sends messages to residents about the intensity level of any tremor in neighbouring countries. It also curates feedbacks from residents who have felt the shaking,” Dr Kamal noted.
angel@khaleejtimes.com