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UAE
Honeywell announces Burj Khalifa as UAE ’ s ‘ smartest ’ building
Honeywell has named the Burj Khalifa as the UAE ’ s “ smartest ” building at the Middle East ’ s first-ever smart building awards presentation at the Innovation Live ! Summit today in Dubai . The world ’ s tallest structure also received the award for the
Middle East ’ s smartest “ high-rise residential ” building .
The summit , an official anchor event of the widely celebrated UAE Innovation Week , held in association with Dubai Chamber , addressed initiatives that are being spearheaded in the UAE to drive forward the National Innovation Strategy and UAE Vision 2021 . UAE buildings , Latifa Maternity & Paediatric Hospital and City Centre Deira were also named at the event as the ‘ Region ’ s Smartest Hospital ’ and the ‘ Region ’ s Smartest Retail Facility ’ respectively .
The Honeywell Smart Building Score Awards program , developed by Honeywell , a Fortune 100 global technology and Internet of Things
( IoT ) leader , assessed the smartness of buildings across the region based on three key indicators – how green , safe and productive they are . The awards recognise the leading smart buildings in the UAE , Qatar , Kuwait and Saudi Arabia , and assessed hotels , hospitals , educational and retail facilities as well as the leading high-rise office and residential buildings across the region .
The awards are designed to help drive innovation and the ‘ smart cities ’ agenda in the UAE and across the Middle East in line with regional development strategies . The Burj Khalifa achieved the highest evaluation amongst all entries from the UAE , with impressive scores across all three smart building categories .
Nokia collaborates with UAE GCAA for drone operations
Nokia and the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority ( GCAA ) have entered into a strategic collaboration to drive the development of an end-to-end UAS ecosystem that will make the UAE the first country in the world to allow the operation of drones by both businesses and government agencies in a safe , secure and managed environment . The project is part of an initiative by the GCAA to make Dubai one of the world ’ s smartest cities by 2017 , and will allow Dubai government security network operator Nedaa to develop a next generation network for mission-critical and smart city services within the GCAA regulatory framework .
At the heart of this new ecosystem will be Nokia ’ s UAV Traffic Management ( UTM ) concept , which is being developed to manage drones in and around cities , and coordinate their interactions with people , manned aircraft and an increasingly diverse array of connected objects . The Nokia UTM system will provide capabilities such as automated flight permissions , no-fly zone control and beyond-visual-line-of-sight ( BVLOS ) that are critical for the safe operation of UAVs in densely populated urban areas . The ecosystem will also serve as a testing ground for various applications of drone technology , which can be explored in a safe and controlled environment .
Drones are quickly emerging as important tools for businesses and governments alike , providing substantial benefits such as infrastructure monitoring and maintenance , public safety applications , logistics and transport and many more . The GCAA has launched this initiative so businesses and local government can take advantage of these benefits , making the city smarter while minimising any hazards that UAVs may present . www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
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