This accident adds up to the list of more than 110 fatalities this year alone. Why are the roads in the UAE so unsafe, one may ponder, when clearly the country has excellent infrastructure and the government has made significant investments in terms of the quality of roads and technology implemented? The answer, appallingly enough, is the sheer carelessness and casual behaviour of the residents when they get behind the wheel. According to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) global status report on road safety 2015, the UAE witnessed 10.9 road deaths per 100,000 population.

The statistics are worryingly high, and point at the urgent need to crack down on distracted driving. The near-term solutions could be to introduce refresher tests and courses for all drivers, and tighten laws further to discourage speeding and swerving, which are the top causes of road accidents in the UAE. In the longer term introducing autonomous driving vehicles might be the right thing. It’ll remove distracted humans from the driving equation completely and make roads safer. But for now, there is no hidden magic bullet for creating immediate awareness and tackling road safety. The government is doing its best to introduce new technology, improve infrastructure and levy heftier penalties for offenders to improve conditions on the roads. The UAE’s aims to reduce road deaths to three for each 100,000 people by 2021, and achieve zero fatalities on the road by 2030 is commendable. But until people who behind the wheel realise that they are as much responsible for other people’s lives as they are for themselves, it is hard to see any change. The government’s vision can only be achieved if everyone works together.

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The project called ‘Terra Nova’ was made by students Arjun Bhorkar of grade 10 and Aaron Shabu of grade 8 – under the guidance of coach Sharo buin Bhorkar – and won the prize in the Junior High Open Category at the World Robotics Olympiad held in New Delhi, India on November 27, 2016

The robot that collects bio-medical waste, has a fool-proof segregation mechanism that helps in recycling and management of waste and then safely stores and transports the waste autonomously without any human interaction.

The robot also had the capability to interact with humans by detecting them via inbuilt sensors. Security can also monitor the robot through a 24 hour surveillance mechanism which is integrated into the system.

WRO 2016 was jointly organized by India STEM Foundation and National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) with this year’s theme being ‘Rap the Scrap’. The Olympiad started in Asia but now has participants from countries around the world including the Middle East, Europe, Africa, South America, North America and Australia.

Teams were required to think of a real world problem related to the theme and come up with an innovative solution for the same. The research and projects required to be well supported with all kinds of displays/prototypes/models/videos and presented in their 2m by 2m booth provided at the regional championship.

“It was an electrifying experience and a tougher competition as compared to the prior years, we had eight rounds of judging and I was optimistic about the results. We appreciate all the support given to us by our families, our school and the UAE National Robotics Organisers for helping us in overcoming the challenges we faced and for believing in us,” Arjun Bhorkar said.

The judges praised the team’s solution for being creative as well as for being a robot that can bring about a social change to do good at a community level and considered it to be a fascinating, socially good startup with a potential to change the world.

“This was my first experience and I was nervous initially, however with each round of judging I gained confidence. I enjoyed interacting with students of my age from around the world, with similar interest. I did not expect to win and I am so happy to have participated in this competition,”  Aaron Shabu.

Executive Principal of The Millennium School, Michael Guzder said: “If you’re passionate about something and you’re determined to succeed, then you can take on the world. We are extremely proud of our Robotics Team who have continually done well with their innovative creations, once again on the international arena where they have showed their class.”

saman@khaleejtimes.com

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