ABU DHABI // The next generation of the nation’s innovators put their bright ideas on display on Thursday at the 2015 Innovator Show.
There are more than 100 exhibits at the show, at the East Plaza on the Corniche, which concludes on Friday. Majid Al Mail, head of the innovator initiative at the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee, said the show was a chance to “nurture innovation in the UAE”.
As the event began, he said: “You can see the energy, the innovation. It’s amazing.”
There was a wide range of ideas on display, including a Braille printer for the blind made of Lego, homemade 3-D printers, energy harvesting exercise bicycles, and a device claimed to be the world’s first automatic bubble tea maker.
Aisha Al Midfa and Mouza Al Ahmed, from Sharjah American International School, were on hand to explain their digital book reader — a device that can read printed pages out loud.
Ms Al Midfa said the device had a camera to take pictures of the pages, whereafter the images are analysed by a computer, converted to a text file, and transformed into an audio file that is read aloud through speakers.
The pair, with fellow student Zainab Al Ali, built the device and created a custom-made computer programme for it.
“It is for the blind and older people who can’t read,” said Ms Al Midfa.
Both inventors explained that a page-turning robot would soon be added to the design.
Concerned with the waste of water, New York University Abu Dhabi student Jagan Narayanan, 20, developed a water-recycling bin, a device that makes use of the water remaining in bottles that have been discarded.
“The problem is, every time we throw something in the recycling bin, we think the problem is solved,” he said.
His invention cuts open the plastic bottles, collects the remaining water, and can send it through a filter. The water then can be used for watering plants, cleaning, or even drinking with further filtration.
Siraj Shikhli, 23, a University of Sharjah graduate, was busy going down the list of features of his security surveillance robot, which he said was “the first security robot made in the UAE”.
The robot has a night-vision camera, a temperature sensor, and tractor-tyre treading capable of conquering rough terrain — all controlled by a self-developed android app via Wi-Fi.
Mr Shikhli said the robot could be used to explore areas where a human being would not want to go, such as during an antiterrorism operation.
On the more recreational side, NYU students Daniel Carelli, Nicholas White, Jovan Javancevic, and Enes Krijestorac, all 19, developed the Mall Ball, which they described as a giant toy for adults.
“Our goal is to enhance the user experience at the mall,” said Mr Javancevic.
Mr Al Mail said the exhibits would all be judged by a panel according to several criteria, including originality, overall impression, creativity, social effect, and visitor interaction.
Prizes will be awarded in areas such as aerospace, sustainability, life sciences, electronics, as well as a visitor’s choice award.
“It’s not a competition,” he said. “It’s about building a community.”
He said the show played an important role in developing a thriving science, technology, and innovation sector, and contributed to the growth of a knowledge-based economy.
“If we are to realise the Abu Dhabi 2030 Economic Vision it is vital that we develop human capital in the STI sectors,” he said. “It is vital for us to work together and embed STI within the community, engaging minds from young to old.
“Programmes such as Innovator and events such as the show provide opportunities for local innovators to display their home-grown creations, learn from key role models, and share ideas with peers and like-minded individuals in an idea exchange platform.”
The show concludes this evening with Dh60,000 up for grabs for the best inventions.
esamoglou@thenational.ae
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
MATCH INFO
Newcastle 2-2 Manchester City
Burnley 0-2 Crystal Palace
Chelsea 0-1 West Ham
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton
Tottenham 3-2 Bournemouth
Southampton v Watford (late)
Results
2pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m, Winner: AF Thayer, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,200m, Winner: AF Sahwa, Nathan Crosse, Mohamed Ramadan.
3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: AF Thobor, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mezmar, Szczepan Mazur, Ernst Oertel.
4pm: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup presented by Longines (TB) Dh 200,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Galvanize, Nathan Cross, Doug Watson.
4.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 40,000 (D) 1,700m, Winner: Ajaj, Bernardo Pinheiro, Mohamed Daggash.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
WHAT%20IS%20THE%20LICENSING%20PROCESS%20FOR%20VARA%3F
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
