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UAE developing retina-scanning drones to deliver government mail

The drones will be tested for durability and efficiency in Dubai for six months, before they’re rolled out across the UAE within a year.

THE UNITED ARAB Emirates (UAE) says it plans to use unmanned aerial drones to deliver official documents and packages to its citizens as parts of its effort to upgrade government services.

The drones will be tested for durability and efficiency in Dubai for six months, before being rolled out across the UAE within a year, Reuters reports.

The UAE showed off its prototype drone developed for the government earlier today.

The battery-operated vehicle can carry small parcels and is propelled by four rotors. Features such as fingerprint and eye-recognition systems would be used to protect the drones and their cargo.

The ministers of cabinet affairs, Mohammed al-Gergawi said, “The UAE will try to deliver its government services through drones. This is the first project of its kind in the world.”

The drones would face a number of obstacles including technical and safety issues. It would also have to deal with temperatures which often exceed 40 degrees Centigrade in summer and heavy sandstorms which occasionally sweep across the desert country.

Amazon popularised the idea when it released a video showing how drones would be used to deliver packages. However, the legal and technological hurdles it would have to overcome would mean it would take years for such an initiative to get off the ground.

Read: Column: Are these the drones we’re looking for? >

Read: 7 of the best reactions to Amazon’s drone delivery plans >

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17 Comments
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    Mute Keith Maguire
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    Feb 10th 2014, 5:07 PM

    Meanwhile, Irish government experiments with post codes.

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    Mute richardmccarthy
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    Feb 10th 2014, 7:06 PM

    They put a commitee in place 12 years ago to deal with post codes,the latest news is they are still experimenting, hahahaha.

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    Mute Benedict Humperdink
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:09 PM

    That country has way too much money.

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    Mute Journal Man
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:19 PM

    Nobody cares Benedict humperwilly!!

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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:34 PM

    Spending hundteds of billions on funparks etc and millions of their Arab brothers living in poverty just imagine what a 0.001% of that oil money could do for them, but I suppose building huge INDOOR sky slopes etc is a much better use of resources!!!!!!!

    53
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    Mute Maurice Riordan
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    Feb 10th 2014, 6:06 PM

    I’m in Dubai at the moment and it is the most ridiculously ostentatious city I have ever seen. It’s like if you gave a child billions of dollars and told him to build his own playground. The Emiratis seem to do very little while all the heavy work is done by the Indians and Pakistanis living in the human equivalent of battery farms. I don’t hate it, in fact, I quite like the city. But it’s like liking a turd made of solid 24 Carat gold. It’s beautiful, but very distasteful.

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    Mute Kevin Elliott
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:22 PM

    How long until this is adapted into a retina scanning gunshot delivery service?

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    Mute Murph11
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:53 PM

    If I opened d door and saw one of them flying at eye level, a gud carpet cleaner would have to be purchased

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    Mute conventional
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    Feb 10th 2014, 6:08 PM

    Like the Emiraties could ever even dream of creating technology like this! What you mean to say is the UAE is basically paying someone else to this for them, just as they bought everything else there (bar the sand).

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    Mute kingstown
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:27 PM

    A question of having too much money.

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    Mute Tom Harpur
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    Feb 10th 2014, 5:55 PM

    Why do all comment threads on news articles on The Journal have to in some way have a reference to our government or Enda if you have nothing useful to say stay quiet failing that just grow up.

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    Mute Declan Byrne
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:45 PM

    Here Enda you donkey countries thinking ahead unlike ireland. Instead you and your dumb government are setting ireland back .

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    Mute Mindfulirish
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:18 PM

    A bit like Ireland in dome ways. We use CLONES to deliver our bad news on a regular basis. Kenny Egan might break the mould.

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    Mute Diarmuid Lenihan
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    Feb 10th 2014, 4:48 PM

    Kenny Egan will do what he’s told like the rest of them.

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    Mute Fergal McDonagh
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    Feb 10th 2014, 5:25 PM

    Kenny Egan has destroyed his cred in one foul swoop.

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    Mute Karen Crofton
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    Feb 10th 2014, 6:26 PM

    The U.A.E. only uses PO boxes currently for sending mail to. My brother lives there, it’d be nice to be able to send my nephew clothes he might still fit into by the time he gets them. Sending a package over takes about 2/3 months currently.

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    Mute feck'n voters
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    Feb 11th 2014, 12:12 AM

    It is like watching a slipt screen between the news and a 1980′s post apocalyptic cyborg movie where the human recall in dream state what freedom, privacy and ‘all that stuff’ existed. And then seeing which will become more extreme by the end of the movie.

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