Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid attended pilot tests for the prototype drones that were unveiled at the Government Summit on Monday.
The Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, accompanied the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed was pleased with the initiative and gave instructions to proceed quickly with final tests in order to expand the range of services provided and extend its geographical reach, reported state news agency Wam.
“We want to reach to people before they reach us. We want to save time, to shorten distances, to increase effectiveness and to make services easier,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
The UAE intends to use drones for a wide variety of government services, including infrastructure monitoring, geographic surveys and delivery of small, light value items that are time sensitive such as identification documents and medicines.
According to the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, the initial testing of the drones - also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) - were promising.
Al Gergawi noted that the UAE is the first government in the world to develop civilian applications for drones to provide government services directly to the people.
“This initiative is part of Sheikh Mohammed’s integrated vision for a smart government, a smart society and global innovation in the use of technology to enhance government services. His vision is that technology should be used for the good of people and in the service of the people, and that governments should be the first to adopt the latest technologies,” said Mr Al Gergawi.
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