Robots to battle it out in future games in Dubai

Nine futuristiccompetitions will feature in the Future Sports Games which will strengthen UAE's position in the field of innovation.

Dubai - Dubai to host first Future Sports Games in 2017 with robots, drones and driverless cars as players.

By Staff Reporter

Published: Sun 13 Mar 2016, 11:00 PM

Last updated: Mon 14 Mar 2016, 8:41 AM

Dubai will host the first-of-its kind World Future Sports Games in December 2017, featuring nine different futuristic competitions. The players? Robots, drones and driverless cars.
The announcement comes as Dubai has announced "future sports" as a new innovation-driven economic sector supported by a new entity, the Dubai-based World Federation of Future Sports.
The bi-annual, three-day games will include driverless car racing, robotic soccer, robotic running competitions, manned drones racing, robotics swimming, robotic table tennis, robotic wrestling, drones races and a cybathlon competition.
The future sports initiatives have been launched under the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and under the supervision of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation.
"Today, we start a new phase in our march to the future through the launch of these unique initiatives that are built on the success of our global platforms, the UAE Drones for Good Award and UAE AI & Robotics Award for Good," Shaikh Hamdan said. He added future sports will play an important role in encouraging innovation, research and development.
The World Federation of Future Sports will work with specialised international federations to create a global system to support the future sports sector. This will be done by organising a variety of scientific and technological competitions around the world.
-reporters@khaleejtimes.com