The move has sparked street protests and diplomatic tensions, and prompted eight of the country's 11 Supreme Court justices to rule themselves out of consideration for the election next year
americas10 hours ago
Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman of Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA), unveiled the ‘SharjahVerse’ and ‘Shj AI Guide - Robot’ projects, at the Sharjah Government pavilion at GITEX Global 2022.
The new project will enable tourists, residents and visitors to explore the emirate of Sharjah in the virtual universe.
SCTDA has created a highly realistic metaverse ecosystem using a combination of real-world 3D videography and advanced generative AI.
Currently in the first phase of this project, SCTDA will feature select destinations and attractions on the Metaverse. Tourism-related non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be created as well. The platform will soon be live on SCTDA’s official website, and will be accessible from most devices. There are plans to further develop this project. New phases and developments of the project will be announced in the near future.
The ‘Shj AI Guide - Robot’, a virtual tour guide service which will provide interactive replies to queries, is embedded with AI technology in a robot form to provide a range of information on the emirate including tourism destinations, services and offerings.
The guide responds to both voice and written messages in five languages - Arabic, English, German, Russian and Chinese. In addition, it offers round-the-clock service and provides information, images and videos of destinations and contact details of tour guides and directions to tourist destinations.
The smart robot tour guides, to be employed in various local and international events as part of the second phase of the project, was launched at Gitex 2022.
In the third phase, scheduled to start in 2023, a special platform will be launched to educate tourists about the smart tour guide and reveal ways to benefit from its presence in more than 80 locations in the emirate.
2024 will see the launch of the fourth phase, where the various services of the authority will be integrated within the smart tour guide, including the services of Sharjah hotel establishments and safari vehicles.
Announcing the launch of these projects, Al Midfa said: “Advanced technologies provide great opportunities to boost and enhance the tourism sector. With the accelerated pace of technical advancement, AI technologies are impacting every aspect of the tourism sector right from welcoming and serving guests, responding to inquiries and analysing their preferences to updating the tourism sector’s progress with accurate data to serve customers better.”
ALSO READ:
The move has sparked street protests and diplomatic tensions, and prompted eight of the country's 11 Supreme Court justices to rule themselves out of consideration for the election next year
americas10 hours ago
This Sony pair up will expand your living room audio and movie-viewing experience
entertainment10 hours ago
Although the election will shift the balance of power in Uruguay, analysts do not foresee a massive change in the country's economic direction
americas10 hours ago
The move shows how Trump's election victory over Kamala Harris was not just a political triumph, but also a legal one
americas10 hours ago
Lithuanian officials have in the past weeks probed alleged acts of incendiary devices being planted on cargo planes
europe10 hours ago
The Group of Seven foreign ministers also discussed the International Criminal Court's arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas military chief
europe10 hours ago
Every year brands are shifting their focus more and more away from specific dates
business10 hours ago
The new locations were selected due to the growing number of tourists and population from these countries in the UAE and the region
aviation10 hours ago