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Google Glass at E-Services Department, Dubai Police Head Quarters Image Credit: Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf News

Dubai: Police in Dubai are currently testing the use of Google Glass for traffic police officers to use on the scene of an accident to send live feed to the operations room.

This is just the most recent use of Google Glass that Dubai Police have tested for integrating the device into traffic police work.

Captain Saadi Hassan Ahmad Jasem, Director of the Quality Assurance Office at the General Department of Smart Services, said that Dubai Police were the first government entity in the UAE to use Google Glass.

“We had talks with Google and we are currently waiting to get their approval for officially releasing Google Glass in the UAE market.” he said.

He said that they started trying out the live feed option about a month ago. “We have around 10 Google Glasses that we have been using for testing various uses.”

“The plan is that every traffic patrol officer will have a Google Glass,” Captain Jasem said.

Colonel Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, General Director of Smart Services at Dubai Police, had previously said that they have created two applications to be used by their officers — one will allow officers to take photos of traffic violations with the Glass, which will go instantly into the traffic system, and the other application helps identify wanted cars, simply by looking at the vehicle’s number plate.

Recently, Dubai Police had also announced that they have made it possible for members of the public who own Google Glass to use it to report traffic violations through the “We are all Police” Dubai Police app.

Google Glass and the Dubai Police Kiosks — now called “We Serve” — are both powered by the Avaya Smart Connect technology, which is a combination of technology and services designed to enhance productivity, collaboration and networking.

Savio Tovar Dias, Director of Sales Engineering, Global Growth Markets at Avaya, said the technology allows integrating any communication device and bringing different devices together to communicate with one another, whether through video, voice or chat. “We are bringing communication to every device and embedding our communications ability in every device.”

For example, he said, through Google Glass Avaya’s technology will help “give the operations room the ability to have remote eyes. This will be an additional channel for the operations room to receive information”.

He said that when a police officer at the scene of an accident uses the Glass, it will allow the police officers at the operations room to make a decision based on those visuals, which can save a life.

The use of smart connect in the “We Serve” Dubai Police Kiosks, which were announced in late September, is what makes the whole process possible.

The kiosks cuts down the need for people to visit police stations to finish their paperwork, as they can talk to a Dubai Police officer and get their documents printed through the machine 24/7.