By Sheena Amos
DUBAI: After plans to offer flying drone taxi service in summer and settle planet Mars by 2117, Dubai has introduced what it calls the UAE’s first ‘Smart Flower’.
The UAE’s first ‘Smartflower’ located in front of Dubai Municipality Headquarters on Baniyas Road, was opened byHussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, in the presence of Ahmed Bin Bayat, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Dubai Holding, Assistants to the Director-General of Dubai Municipality, directors of departments and other officials of the municipality.
The Smartflower, developed by an Austrian firm, is considered to be an innovative solar panel with built-in sensors that allow for the flower-shaped device to automatically track the rays of sunlight and re-orient itself accordingly, which results in a much higher efficiency of up to 23 per cent, and 60 per cent self-utilization as compared to traditional roof-top solar systems.
It also has a highly developed weather adapting mechanism and its efficiency is not affected by the weather conditions of Dubai. A passive ventilation system has been integrated in the design of the Smartflower to ensure optimum efficiency during high temperatures.
Khalid Sharif Al Awadhi, Assistant Director General for Environment, Health and Safety Control Sector said the Smartflower is considered to be one of the several initiatives launched by the Applied Sustainability and Renewable Energy Department of Dubai Municipality in 2017, along with the official launching of the Dubai Lamp, the world’s most efficient commercially-available LED lamp, which is expected to reduce energy consumption by 90 per cent.
He added that Dubai Municipality continuously encourages and seeks to adopt innovative and creative products and initiatives that will better serve the citizens and residents of Dubai, and promote Dubai to be a global innovation hub in the field of sustainability and clean energy.