PORTS TEAM DEMONSTRATES HOW DRONES INCREASE SECURITY
Abu Dhabi Ports was one of the few Government entities that qualified for the finale of “The UAE Drones for Good Award” which took place on Saturday, 7 February, at Dubai Internet City.
HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the award – the first of its kind in the UAE – in February 2014.
The launch was part of an initiative to invite the country’s most innovative and creative minds to find solutions to problems, using the advantages of modern-day technology to improve the lives of people.
In an eight-minute simulated aerial observation scenario, a team of experts from the Abu Dhabi Ports Security Department demonstrated its expertise and skills in front of a high profile judging panel which consisted of leading scientists and unmanned aerial vehicle specialists from the region.
As part of the competition entry, the Abu Dhabi Ports team presented a live, simulated scenario in which an intruder acted suspiciously around a hypothetical ports building, offering the team an opportunity to demonstrate new and innovative ways of using drone cameras to quickly track the person in question and handle the situation in a safe and effective manner.
“Port premises are very large in scale with numerous people, vehicles and heavy equipment onsite working 24 hours a day. The state-of-the-art drone cameras complement our existing CCTV camera surveillance techniques, making it easier to overlook our premises and helping us to quickly act and double check potentially dangerous situations”, explains Sultan Al Jaberi, VP – Regulations, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) and Security, Abu Dhabi Ports.
Abu Dhabi Ports has been one of the UAE’s leading government organisations in the field of aerial observation and launched its cutting edge “Eye in the Sky” drone camera last year to increase the surveillance at Khalifa Port, its adjacent Khalifa industrial zone, as well as at its other ports in and around Abu Dhabi.
Most recently, the company has added a further and more advanced drone camera to its surveillance equipment. Compared to Abu Dhabi Ports’ other drone cameras, the so-called hexicopter is fitted with a six propeller aircraft and thus has an increased mobility and flying range, while being able to provide full 360 degree camera views. The cameras are primarily used for security but could also be deployed for search and rescue or emergency response.