Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, has launched the Dubai robotics and automation program to increase the sector’s contribution to 9 percent of the GDP within 10 years.
The launch took place during the crown prince’s visit to Dubai Future Labs – an applied research and development facility specialised in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI).
The new initiative will raise Dubai’s regional and global leadership and strengthen its reputation as a city with one of the highest levels of readiness in the world to adopt future technologies.
“We aim to make Dubai among the top 10 global cities for robotics and automation technology, empower national talents, innovate new solutions, products and services, and develop the legislative and governance system,” the crown prince said on Twitter.
The Dubai R&A Program is based on three pillars – governance, support for R&D and adoption and utilisation of technologies.
Led by the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), the program will support the future economy of the emirate, through the development, selection and adoption of robotic and safe technologies in various key economic sectors.
The implementation of the Dubai R&A Program supports the development of various vital and future-oriented sectors in Dubai, including transportation, space, healthcare, education and artificial intelligence, among others.
It will also provide an appropriate and effective governance framework for these sectors.
The program will also focus on five key areas, which are:
- Production and manufacturing
- Tourism and consumer services
- Logistics and transport
- Improvement of work environments
- Healthcare and connected mobility
There are five key initiatives under the program, which include:
- Establishment of a robotics and automation council
- Development of legislation for the use of robotics
- Launch of experimental labs for robotics and automation
- Launching an academic excellence programme
- Launch of a programme to help companies adopt robotics and automation
The 10-year program aims to provide 200,000 robotic machines to increase efficiency in productivity in the services, logistics and industrial sectors.