DRIVEN BY DRONES
Awards for Good gets 1,300 domestic and international submissions including drones and a car protection device
Robot builders and drone pilots vie for $1 million prize in Drones for Good competition,
DUBAI // The UAE Awards for Good has received more than 1,300 submissions of drones and robots from around the world.
The competition encourages the youth to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics in ways they have not considered before.
Forty drones and robots were selected from the submissions for a chance to win US$1 million (Dh3.67m) for the international prize and Dh1m for the domestic prize. The winners will be announced this evening.
Although he is not in the running for the prize, Saif Al Hammadi, 16, was inspired by the competition and is exhibiting a drone he designed to save lives in war zones. “I made this drone to detect landmines,” said the Emirati Year 11 pupil from Applied Technology High School in Al Ain.
Saif, who wants to join the Air Force, said science was his passion and he wanted to produce inventions to benefit humanity.
He said young Emiratis like him had a great interest in science and technology but needed guidance. “Boys of my generation have a big interest in innovation and technology. However, we need the support of companies to guide us and take our passion to the next level,” said Saif, who spent about Dh6,500 on building his robot.
This year, the UAE Awards for Good has two competitions – the UAE Drones for Good Award and the UAE Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Award for Good, which are both open to global and regional partic- ipants. At the competitions’ junior levels, Ma’oza Ali, 8, and Fi’ee Mahmud came up with an concept to protect cars.
The two girls invented an umbrella device that can reduce damage caused to vehicles by the Sun during summer. Their maths and science teacher, Norah Al Hammadi, said: “I am really proud that these young intelligent girls are my students. It was their idea and they worked by themselves to produce it. It’s a basic concept but very beneficial for the public.”
She added that science was the most popular subject among her Emirati female pupils. Dr Sammi Rassamny, general manager of Digi Robotics, stressed the importance of science for development. “There is no way for any nation to progress other than to invest in science. The UAE leadership is doing exactly that by investing and giving priority to science and technology,” he said. Ammar Al Malik, executive director of Dubai Internet City, said the purpose of the awards was to inspire young minds and improve humanity.
“Such initiatives will also lead to new and exciting career opportunities for rising IT talents, and become part of the vibrant community that builds connections between industry players and entrepreneurs,” he said.
Dubai Internet City is hosting the awards for the third year in a row.
Mr Al Malik said that the UAE was making rapid progress in becoming an international centre for information technology and scientific pursuits.