DUBAI: International management consultancy Accenture launched its new Digital Acceleration Centre in Dubai on Wednesday with a demonstration of what new technologies can offer farmers, hoteliers, fashionistas, engineers and disabled people.
The centre, in Dubai Internet City, will host seminars, workshops and demonstrations for students, academics, professionals and Accenture clients, said Omar Boulos, the firm’s Middle East and North Africa (Mena) regional managing director.
Speaking after the launch, he described the venture as a ‘cost centre’, not intended to generate profit but to add value to clients and other users by finding new uses for upcoming technologies.
“These are exciting times,” he said in his opening speech. “The World Economic Forum calls this the fourth industrial revolution. We are at the beginning steps of mass digital technology adoption combined with innovation in various fields from bioscience to energy … The world around us is changing, and frankly, it’s changing at an exponential pace. One of the things that’s readily apparent is that people recognise that, organisations and governments recognise that.
“If you look at the UAE Vision 2021, if you look at the Saudi Vision 2030, it’s just two examples of governments recognising that digital will and can add significant amounts to the existing GDP.”
Majed Al Suwaidi, managing director of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource City, said the centre would boost the “start-up ecosystem” of Dubai. “As fostering entrepreneurs is a strategic objective of our parent company, Tecom Group, we are committed to supporting efforts to transform Dubai into an innovation-led economy and Smart City.”
Gerardo Canta, managing director of Accenture’s communication, media and technology practice in Mena, Russia and Turkey, said, “The centre will also focus on attracting and nurturing local talent, enabling the region’s best people to cultivate valuable careers and contribute to their countries’ growth and innovation agendas by launching several initiatives such as hackathons, innovation programmes and internships.”
Cutting-edge tech
Technology that Accenture displayed at its new Digital Acceleration Centre included:
• An agricultural drone equipped with a thermal camera designed to help farmers spot otherwise invisible problems with crops. Staff said the drone could scan a 70-hectare area in 45 minutes; a farmer would take 9 hours to walk the same fields. Similar drones can be used to create detailed 3D height maps for planners, engineers and architects.
• Smart glasses capable of displaying readouts of technical equipment through augmented reality.
• A virtual reality training and assessment centre for engineers.
• A voice-controlled hotel valet system capable of understanding natural speech, which could also be used by disabled people.
• A headband capable of detecting brainwaves, used to control basic devices through thought, initially designed to help someone suffering from motor neuron disease.
• A dress capable of displaying simple moving images controlled from a tablet.
• An agricultural method known as vertical farming, which combined hydroponics with specialised LED lighting to grow crops with 95 per cent less water and up to three times the yield of regular farming methods.
