IDEAS THAT CHANGE THE WORLD
Dubai is the most futuristic and astonishing city we can visit. Its outlandish, incredible technologies leave us speechless and seem to catapult us into a world where even the impossible becomes possible.
Dubai and climate control
Climate control sounds like science fiction. We have seen it in various films, and it stirs conflicting emotions, ranging from amazement to fear. Can technologies aimed at controlling the climate and creating artificial weather be beneficial, or are they too risky?
Whatever the answer, we must recognise that this is no longer just science fiction, but a reality. Dubai and its incredible technologies have shown us that controlling the climate is possible, perhaps not yet at an advanced level or on a large scale, but it is nonetheless a tangible reality.
The city’s two main technologies in this area are Raining Street and cloud seeding.
Raining Street is a one-kilometre street inside the Cote d’Azur resort, featuring an integrated climate-control system designed to maintain a constant temperature of 27°C, while outside temperatures can reach 47°C. The system also simulates constant rainfall.
Cloud seeding, meanwhile, is an even more surprising and incredible technology. It involves special drones that charge clouds with electrical discharges and salts to force storm systems to form. In Dubai, they have literally made it rain artificially!
Robotics
If climate control is outlandish, the constant presence of robotics and robots is no less remarkable.
In Dubai, we can find entire smart police stations without any human presence. These are not actually full-fledged police stations: fortunately, people are still needed for those. Instead, they are fully automated security hubs open 24 hours a day. Inside, you can carry out many activities performed daily at ordinary police stations, such as filing a report, paying fines and interacting with police officers through artificial intelligence.
Around the city, in venues, restaurants and shopping centres, it is easy to encounter numerous humanoid robots that now perform a wide range of social and commercial functions.
Dubai and transport
Transport in Dubai is undoubtedly outlandish and sensational!
People have been talking about autonomous driving for years. Yet while the rest of the world still sees it as a technology under development and gradually spreading, something for the future, in this desert city it is already part of the present.
Uber and similar platforms use self-driving vans managed by artificial intelligence, filling the city with robotaxis in which the presence of a human driver is no longer essential.
Even the transport of food and goods is completely different from elsewhere in the world. Here, the food we order for home delivery is brought by small ground robots capable of navigating the city entirely on their own, following traffic rules and avoiding pedestrians and other obstacles.
Architecture and entertainment
The city’s architecture is interactive and designed for the public enjoyment of residents and tourists.
One example is the magical floor of the Dubai Frame, a 50-metre-long bridge suspended in the air whose floor consists of liquid crystals fitted with sensors. These allow the glass to remain opaque and turn transparent only at the precise moment someone steps on it.
Other interesting examples of outlandish futuristic technology and architectural entertainment are Aya Universe and the Museum of the Future, respectively a digital amusement park and a museum that projects us straight into the future, specifically the year 2071.
