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'Good drones' bag Dh4.6 million at Dubai competition

His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai presenting cash prize during the finals of the UAE Drones for Good Awards at Dubai Internet City on Saturday. Photo by Neeraj Murali.

Dubai - Winners of UAE Drones For Good Award announced.

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by

Bernd Debusmann Jr.

Published: Sun 7 Feb 2016, 6:38 PM

A drone that detects and repairs leaks in pipelines and a multi-purpose drone that can submerge itself in water have soared (and dived) to victory in the second edition of the UAE Drones For Good Awards.
An AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Robotics Award for Good held concurrently was won by the Al Murshid Al Thaki (Arabic for 'Smart Guidance System for the Blind') robot and by the UC Berkeley Suit-X, an exoskeleton system designed to improve the physiological gait development of children.
Three drones each competed in the national and international finals of the drones competition, alongside three entries each for the national and international portions of the AI and robotics competition. Winning national entries will be awarded Dh1 million each, while international winners will receive $1 million.

The team with the winning national drone - the 'BuilDrone' - was led by Talib Muhammad Alhinai, an Emirati PhD candidate at Imperial College London, and supervised by Dr Mirko Kovac.
"Usually leaks are repaired manually. Humans will go there, the facility needs to be shut down and it takes time. It can be very dangerous for humans and very costly and its labour intense and complex," Kovac told Khaleej Times. "What we offer is a solution. A drone can go to the site, inspect where the leak is, inspect the damage, and then repair it on-site without any human intervention."
Kovac noted that the Dh1 million will allow the team to expand on their idea.
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Osamah Rawashdeh, the project leader of the Loon Copter team from Oakland University in the US, which won the international award, explained that the versatile drone can be used for a variety of purposes.
Meet the winners> National Winner (Dh 1 million): BuilDrone team led by Talib Muhammad Alhinai, an Emirati PhD candidate at Imperial College London
> International winner ($1 million): Loon Copter team from Oakland University in the US
> Artificial Intelligence Award: Al Murshid Al Thaki (Arabic for 'Smart Guidance System for the Blind') robot
> Robotics Award for Good: UC Berkeley Suit-X, an exoskeleton system designed to improve the physiological gait development of children
"It's a unique vehicle. It's 3 in 1 basically. It can fly, or operate on the surface of the water, and then can dive underwater like a remote control submarine," he said. "It's a platform. Some of the applications that people have approached us with are monitoring of oil spills, for search and rescue, inspection of bridges, or to see whales or sharks approaching, and carry shark deterrents."
In total, the international drone competition drew a total of 1,017 submissions from 165 countries, while the robotics competition drew 664 submissions from 121 countries. His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, witnessed the finals.
bernd@khaleejtimes.com
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"There's a lot of negative publicity lately with drones. There are privacy issues, people flying around airports, and of course their military uses," Osamah Rawashdeh noted.
bernd@khaleejtimes.com

BuilDrone that detects and repairs leaks in pipelines is being demonstrated at the UAE Drones for Good Awards on Saturday.
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Photo by Neeraj Murali.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai presenting cash prize during the finals of the UAE Drones for Good Awards at Dubai Internet City on Saturday. Photo by Neeraj Murali.
Falcon flights demonstrated during the finals of the UAE drones for Good Awards at Dubai Internet City on Saturday. Photo by Neeraj Murali.
Falcon flights demonstrated during the finals of the UAE drones for Good Awards at Dubai Internet City on Saturday. Photo by Neeraj Murali.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai presenting cash prize during the finals of the UAE Drones for Good Awards at Dubai Internet City on Saturday. Photo by Neeraj Murali.
Participants demonstrating a smart guidance system that assists the blind in avoiding physical obstacles during the finals of the UAE Drones for Good Awards. Photo by Neeraj Murali.
Bernd Debusmann Jr.

Published: Sun 7 Feb 2016, 6:38 PM

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