H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, announced the launch of the ‘Dubai Robotics and Automation (R&A) Programme’ to boost the development, testing and adoption of R&A, and accelerate the use of its application in key economic sectors.

The launch took place during His Highness’s visit to Dubai Future Labs – an applied research and development facility specialised in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. 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.

"The Dubai Robotics and Automation Programme aims to increase the sector’s contribution to Dubai’s GDP to 9 percent within 10 years. We seek to make Dubai one of the world’s top 10 cities in R&A by adopting and developing advanced robotics technologies, empowering national talent, and generating innovative new solutions, products, and services," Sheikh Hamdan said.

Led by the Dubai Future Foundation, the Programme, which features five key initiatives, will focus on accelerating research and development in five areas. As part of the Programme, 200,000 robots will be provided over the next 10 years to increase efficiency and productivity in various sectors including services, logistics, and the industrial sector, and enhance the competitiveness of Dubai’s economy.

Sheikh Hamdan stressed that Dubai’s advanced infrastructure and talented workforce give it many competitive strengths in this rapidly growing global industry. The emirate will focus on advancing R&D in five main areas in the sector – Production and Manufacturing; Consumer Services and Tourism; Healthcare and Connected Mobility; and Logistics.

He added that the main objective of the Programme is to achieve the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into a global destination for innovation in R&A applications. The development of the sector will support the diversification of Dubai’s future economy and help build an integrated knowledge base that can contribute to creating new economic opportunities and improving the quality of life.

Sheikh Hamdan directed the allocation of laboratories to develop R&A technologies, support relevant research, testing, development, experimentation, and integration activities, provide a supportive platform for collaborative projects, create prototypes, and involve the public in innovative product experiences.

He highlighted the importance of equipping local talent and emerging companies with advanced tools and skills that are expected to be in high demand in the future and developing training programmes in cooperation with government and private entities, universities, and R&D centres locally and globally.

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan called on Dubai government entities and the private sector to strengthen cooperation with local and international research and academic institutions to develop a regulatory and legal environment that supports the growth of R&A in Dubai and create a comprehensive local knowledge base for standards, technical specifications, and advanced technologies. He also stressed the importance of fostering partnerships with national and international universities to support talent development, enhancing practical research, and generating innovative solutions to improve the competitiveness of the national economy.

All initiatives that will be organised and launched as part of the Programme will be overseen by the Dubai Council for Robotics and Automation, which consists of representatives from public and private sectors and academia.

The implementation of the Dubai R&A Programme supports the development of various vital and future-oriented sectors in Dubai, including transportation, space, healthcare, education and artificial intelligence, among others.

The Dubai R&A Programme is based on three pillars – governance, support for R&D and adoption and utilisation of technologies. As part of the governance pillar, the Programme seeks to develop structural supportive mechanisms to build and maintain an optimal environment for R&A development, institutionalise collaboration between R&A developers, create a favourable regulatory and legal environment, formulate standards and create a comprehensive knowledge base. As part of the second pillar, the Programme will seek to support scientific R&D, increase funding allocation in key areas, maximise the participation of local talent and increase the pool of professionals specialised in R&D in robotics and automation.

Within the third pillar, the Dubai R&A Programme will help industries adopt and utilise technologies, reduce the cost of robotics adoption, institutionalise investment cooperation in R&A, support R&A systems integration, ensure public acceptance for new technologies, and enhance rates of robotics technology deployment.