‘Take flight’ at Gitex

From flying cars to automated pizza delivery carts, the first day of Gitex Technology Week did not disappoint with its fare of weird and wonderful offerings from the world of innovation.

Dubai World Trade Centre was filled with all manner of technology – some new, others reinvented – but judging by the crowds, as popular as ever.

The Etisalat stage in Zabeel Hall was again the showpiece, although much of the technology has been seen before.

Mechanical arms from Yaskawa, a Japanese robotics company, were used to deliver mocktails from the automated MakrShakr robot bartender. And similar technology was used to demonstrate how prescription drugs could be dispensed from a robotic pharmacist after a customer accessed their account through a tablet device or smartphone.

Mediclinic, the UAE’s largest private healthcare provider, set up a hospital ward to show how doctors can perform surgical procedures remotely.

Thanks to emerging 5G technology, haptic gloves that replicate a surgeon’s precision movements on a robotic arm can now perform minor operations from a distance.

Screen time is the bane of parenthood, with children often drawn to their devices for hours at a time, but Japanese start-up company Mui Lab claims to have the answer.

The company is part of the Japan External Trade Organisation, a government-related group promoting trade and investment between the country and the rest of the world.

Mui Lab has designed a smart home device that is a little different to the usual Amazon Echo or Google Home.

It uses natural woods to offer commands and voice-activation prompts on a touch panel display, connecting homes with mobile network systems to activate lights or air conditioning without a mobile device.

Swiss company Rinspeed has developed its MicroSnap electric concept car. The solar-power-assisted vehicle can be driven manually but can switch to autonomous driving to allow the passenger to take an urgent call, answer an email or catch up on the news.

Meanwhile above the roads, Audi and Airbus combined to display the latest version of a flying car.

Reem Mohammed / The National The latest technology that will shape our lives went on display at Gitex Technology Week in Dubai yesterday. Telecom operator Du caught visitors’ attention with a vast screen that enabled people to ‘fly’ over UAE landscapes. Gitex continues until Thursday.