During its Remarkable Participation at Gitex for the 3rd Day

Dubai , United Arab Emirates , 22 October 2013 

During a press conference held at Gitex on Tuesday 22nd Oct 2013 , the ICT fund, an initiative by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), announced its funding for two research and development projects : The first "Semi-autonomous Mobile Robotic System", a semi-autonomous mobile robotic system for urban search and rescue (USAR) and the second is the "UAE National Observatory" project which will facilitate scientific research and promote a solid base of astronomy in the United Arab Emirates, as well as support regional and international common astronomical research projects in order to raise public awareness in astronomy and space sciences.

The importance of the "Semi-autonomous Mobile Robotic System" project lies in developing a semi-autonomous mobile robotic system for urban search and rescue (USAR) missions which are usually dangerous and time consuming. For example, buildings under fire, collapsed buildings and other urban disasters are some examples of USAR situations. Robots can act as substitutes where possible to access unreachable or unexplored areas and reduce the workforce requirements and unwanted collateral and fatigue. This project will also involve the development of robot system that can collaborate autonomously to negotiate compromised and collapsed structures, find victims and determine their conditions, produce practical maps of their locations, identify hazards, process sensors and communicate with the command control base to allow human rescuers to quickly locate and extract victims.

As for the "UAE National Observatory", its main strategic objectives will be to advance and facilitate scientific research in astronomy and astrophysics in the UAE, promote a solid astronomical base in the UAE, encourage scientific literacy and boost UAE nationals' interest in this area.

In addition, the project is aimed to promote scientific literacy, provide programs of educational and general awareness, promote astronomy and space science in the community as a valuable field of study, enrich the professional experience of researchers in the UAE in the field of education and Astronomy, support the academic and research efforts through communication and explorations that will be held at the "UAE National Observatory", hold national and international conferences to facilitate the exchange of scientific information and promote cooperation with other research centers, as well as support the development of national science curriculum in the domain of space exploration and research in collaboration with the concerned universities. This project is one of the UAE TRA initiatives and it's going to bear its cost Telescope project through the ICT fund.

Commenting on these two projects, Dr. Abdulqader Al Khayat, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of ICT Fund said: "We are counting upon the implementation of these two projects as they represent a start of new era that is rich in scientific experiences and research and development that will benefit the UAE market, being a dynamic market that provides new and innovative technology models that became the focus of attention of technology leaders at both local and global levels. Enabling the implementation of world class national R&D projects in UAE will definitely contribute to the advancement of the ICT sector. "

Eng. Omar Mohammed Al Mahmoud, Acting Chief Executive Officer of ICT fund said: "the "UAE National Observatory", will generate a range of new competitive astronomical researches that would lead to a significant improvement in knowledge generation, and create a solid base for Astronomy studies and educational seminars on space science in UAE schools and universities. Moreover, the "Semi-autonomous Mobile Robotic System" project will contribute to risk management processes related to urban search and rescue using the power of technology tools in an environment and society friendly manner. Therefore, the implementation of these projects will result eventually in raising local community awareness on the importance of "R&D" which comes in line with the aspirations of the UAE leadership and reflects their vision in developing a strong knowledge based society and achieving the UAE Vision 2021."

-Ends-

Theodore Tarek Halabi
Senior Account Manager
Edelman United Arab Emirates
Edelman FZ LLC, 502-503 Al Thuraya Tower 1, Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE
PO Box: 77793
t: +971 (0)4 455 3839 | m: +971 (0)56 110 8074 | f: +971 (0)4 435 7115 | 
w:  www.edelman.com
b:  www.arabianbytes.com

© Press Release 2013