Al Bowardi: The UAE employs unmanned systems to achieve the leadership's vision and build the best and most active economy in the world.
Ulama: Today we realize the importance of using these systems and their role in protecting our countries and serving our societies.
Al-Jabri: The conference is an opportunity for consultation and a comprehensive review of the mechanisms for employing and applying unmanned systems.
Al Dhaheri: The event strengthens the UAE's position as a distinguished global destination for hosting specialized conferences.
ABU DHABI, 20th February / WAM / Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the activities of the fifth session of the "Unmanned Systems 2022" conference, which accompanies the exhibitions "UMEX" and "UMEX" and "Unmanned Systems 2022" kicked off today in Abu Dhabi. SimTEX 2022 under the slogan: "Autonomous systems without borders: a huge leap and promising prospects."The conference, which is organized by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company "ADNEC" in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, attracts a group of thought leaders, high-ranking officials and academic researchers from different countries of the world, and more than 2,000 experts and specialists participate in it physically and virtually.
His Excellency Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bawardi, Minister of State for Defense Affairs opened the conference sessions, in the presence of His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, His Excellency Maria Didi, Minister of Defense of the Republic of the Maldives, and His Excellency Joao Ernesto dos Santos, Minister of Defense. The Angolan Defense Forces, His Royal Highness Lieutenant General Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force, His Excellency Eng. Awaidha Murshid Al Marar, Head of the Department of Energy in Abu Dhabi, and His Excellency Major General Dr. Mubarak Saeed Ghafan Al Jabri, Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee of the UMEX exhibition and conference. And "SimTEX" 2022, Hamid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company "ADNEC" and its group of subsidiaries, and high-level personalities from international delegations attended the conference.
During his opening speech, His Excellency Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Bowardi welcomed the delegations to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, the homeland of tolerance and peace and the land of opportunities and innovation. Our hands, and in the UAE, is an important player in achieving the vision of our wise leadership embodied in the fifty principles, by focusing on building the best and most active economy in the world, and consolidating the global reputation of the UAE.
His Excellency continued: “The organization of this strategic conference today comes despite the global challenges and exceptional circumstances that we are witnessing at the regional level, to shed light on the capabilities and capabilities that the UAE enjoys, highlighting its pivotal role in enhancing the security and stability of the region, as well as its efforts to move forward in enhancing Its advanced technological system to develop deterrence, and build a security and defense sector that contributes to achieving tranquility and peace.
His Excellency added: "The importance of this conference lies in its being a scientific platform that gathers expertise and competencies that supports our mission to develop national capabilities, and a message from the UAE to the whole world that it is capable of facing various challenges, and reaching the realization of the aspirations of its leadership and the aspirations of its people to reach an advanced position on the list of the best countries in the world in all fields, and that it is keen to develop its capabilities to produce unmanned systems and unmanned aircraft in order to enhance its defense capabilities, as well as support its national economy.
His Excellency said: “A great aspect of the danger lies in the fact that drones have become a weapon favored by armed and terrorist groups due to their low cost of production, efficiency, effectiveness and ease of obtaining them, especially if there are regimes and countries sponsoring them. Drones can play some roles. carried out by conventional combat aircraft, such as the tasks of surveillance, reconnaissance and air attacks, and for this reason their uses began to affect the concepts and doctrine of air operations and air defense.
His Excellency continued: "Despite the scientific and technological progress that unmanned systems represent, they involve unprecedented risks and challenges. Therefore, we must intensify our efforts on an international and global level in order to protect international legitimacy and achieve international peace and security, as well as work together to continue in this field." The path of progress and prosperity for our future generations by upgrading our creative capabilities to meet challenges, and developing human interaction with smart machines with confidence and awareness, in addition to making the right decisions in the uninhabited era.
The conference, which included 4 panel discussions, in which 22 high-level speakers from several countries around the world participated, including ministers, leaders, global leaders and innovators, dealt with many topics and issues related to the unmanned systems sector, and focused the sessions on 4 main axes , including understanding the changing landscape in the unmanned systems sector, enhancing trust and understanding between man and machine and decision-making in the era of unmanned systems, and touching on improving innovation: overcoming the challenges associated with the implementation and integration of technologies, and unmanned systems and the fourth industrial revolution: how technology works Formation of future capabilities.
In addition, His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, said in his keynote speech delivered at the opening of the first session of the conference: "We realize today more than ever the importance of protecting our countries by ensuring the use of these technologies." In serving and protecting our societies, and as is the case with all technologies that have emerged throughout history, we fully understand that they are not perfect.But when looking at unmanned systems, there are many reasons that leaders and decision makers may build their directions in their use and work to develop and deploy their various technologies. It contributes to creating many opportunities to protect civilians in wars and battles."
His Excellency continued: "These systems have an ideal ability to work uniformly and harmoniously in ways that humans may not be able to do. Traditional systems when combined with artificial intelligence technologies, and these combined advantages make us more able to achieve goals, and adopt strategies that enhance our efforts to protect our societies from attacks and during wars and battles.
The scholars said: "Despite the advantages of the systems, they also entail several challenges that may create a kind of extremism, as they stimulate escalation during battles, especially when combined with artificial intelligence techniques, which creates a desire to move forward forcefully without Take all possibilities into consideration.
In addition, the cost of owning these technologies has become lower at the present time, which may allow terrorist groups that threaten the security of our countries to possess and use them to terrorize civilians and destabilize the security of our societies, as well as the existence of defects in these systems represented in their use of historical data that is not in line with forward-looking trends. which many countries adopt in planning for the future.
For his part, Major General Dr. Mubarak Saeed Ghafan Al-Jabri, Assistant Undersecretary for Support and Defense Industries at the Ministry of Defense, Chairman of the Supreme Organizing Committee for UMEX and SimTEX 2022 exhibitions and the accompanying conference, said: "..unmanned systems have become an essential part of our daily life. We depend on it continuously in many vital areas that have succeeded in replacing humans, especially in covering those tasks that may be characterized by a high degree of danger and complexity. Despite this progress in this field, we are still at the beginning of what we expect in the future in terms of the level of reliance on and adoption of these systems.”
His Excellency added: "Although the adoption of these systems is still facing many challenges, whether technical, operational, or even societal, our presence today in the UAE is an affirmation to the world of the leading position that we enjoy in terms of developing Applying and adopting these systems, and thus contributing to the maturity of our institutions and business, and enhancing the value of human life. But most importantly, we continue to work on identifying challenges and obstacles, and delving deeper into finding solutions to support future plans."
His Excellency explained: "On top of these challenges is the continuity of the technological development of these systems, as work continues to develop technology at an accelerated rate, but ensuring the integration and integration of these systems with relatively older traditional systems still needs continuous work to ensure full compatibility and obtain the desired results." From the desired goal of applying these systems in a specific field or sector.At the same time, in the case of replacing old systems and devices with unmanned systems, the challenge lies in the adaptation of the teams using these systems, especially in the defense and security sectors, as they introduce new operational concepts that require speed In adapting and harmonizing with it, with little or no margin of error, or without accidents and errors that cast doubt on the capabilities and effectiveness of these systems.”
He continued: "In light of these challenges, this conference provides us with an opportunity to consult and conduct a comprehensive review in the mechanisms of employing and applying unmanned systems, to ensure the adoption of appropriate technologies and to find a solution to the challenges and obstacles that appear on the surface during the advanced stages of application. This review requires concerted efforts." between manufacturers, innovators and end users, to build an effective system capable of playing a vital role in human life and well-being, and another strategic role in the development of the state, governments and their economic, industrial and defense systems alike.
For his part, Humaid Matar Al Dhaheri, Managing Director and CEO of Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company "ADNEC" and its subsidiaries group, said: "We witnessed the launch of the activities of the conference organized by ADNEC, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense in the UAE, in the presence of a group of experts and academic researchers. and global thought leaders to exchange views, in the unmanned systems sector.
The event contributes to strengthening the UAE's position as a distinguished global destination for hosting conferences specialized in unmanned systems, simulation systems and training."
The organization of these events comes in accordance with ADNEC's strategy aimed at supporting vital and promising sectors and enhancing the competitiveness of national companies at the local and international levels, in addition to transferring and localizing advanced knowledge in the country."
The conference gathered under its umbrella a group of experts, academic researchers and global thought leaders to exchange views and explore solutions to current and emerging challenges in light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and sheds light on the latest scientific and technical developments in these fields, as well as the best practices followed in these ever-evolving sectors. And stand on the latest scientific and technological developments in this field.
In the four discussion sessions, the conference dealt with understanding the changing landscape in the unmanned systems sector, enhancing trust and understanding between man and machine and decision-making in the era of unmanned systems, and dealing with improving innovation: overcoming the challenges associated with the processes of applying and integrating technologies, unmanned systems and the industrial revolution Fourth: How technology shapes future capabilities.
It should be noted that the previous edition of the "UMEX" and "SimTEX" exhibitions and the accompanying conference, which was held in 2020, witnessed a great turnout after the event witnessed wide international and local participation from exhibitors and visitors, and it received wide media attention at the local and global levels.
- Ahmed Al Nuaimi - Mansour Amer -