DUBAI // A Dh1 million competition to find practical uses for drone technology that can aid government departments in the UAE and also help in the distribution of humanitarian aid worldwide has been expanded.
The UAE Drones for Good award, launched in February by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, is now open to would-be innovators from local and federal government agencies as well as university staff and students.
Judges will look for the best, most practical ideas for using drone technology. Submissions must be readily deployable within 12 months, must function safely and effectively and meet the needs of citizens or government services.
“The aim of the award is to harness technology to improve people’s lives, whether in the UAE or around the world, and to design the structure of legislative service delivery through advanced technology,” said Saif Alaili, director of the Drones for Good award.
He said that the special category for government agencies within the national award reflected confidence in their ability to understand the needs of the public and to design more efficient government services to improve people’s lives.
“In conjunction with the decision to award the participation of government agencies, we extended the qualifying period an extra month, until the beginning of next September instead of August, so as to give sufficient opportunity for them to prepare,” Mr Alaili said.
He said the decision was also in response to requests received during workshops organised by the award at universities by students who wished to participate.
The international phase of the award has also been extended until the beginning of October.
Organisers will look at how drone technology can make improvements in the fields of health, education, civil defence, transport, tourism, environment, logistics, infrastructure and other services.
There are three main phases to the competition. The first is an open call for submissions, now open until September.
Phase 2 begins on September 15, with the announcement of the longlist of semi-finalists.
During this phase semi-finalists will need to submit a detailed technical proposal for their idea, with documentation also uploaded to the competition's website, DronesForGood.ae, along with a five-minute video.
The final round of the competition begins on November 1 with the announcement of the shortlist of finalists. The goal of this phase is to address concerns raised in phase 2 and give a live demonstrate. Finalists must prepare a short presentation outlining the technical, functional and economic aspects of their idea, as well as perform a demonstration in front of a panel of judges.
The final phase ends on December 1 when a winner will be selected and announced by December 14. The top three finalists, including the winner, will automatically be entered as semi-finalists into the international competition, should they so choose.
malkhan@thenational.ae
