Special report: Highlights of the International Exhibition for National Security & Resilience 2018

The dignitaries, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Lieutenant General His Highness Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, were welcomed to the event with brass band and bagpipe music from the UAE police forces, in a performance which included the UAE national anthem and Ode to Joy, as well as traditional Emirati dancing. A special feature of the opening ceremony for the eighth edition of ISNR was The Brave, a short film and live action performance centred around the fictional Middle Eastern city of Roodan. The film showcased the dedication of the UAE teams in assisting a neighbouring country as well as the technology used to find the mother and Omar. Special sensor equipment, communications tools and highly trained sniffer dogs were used to locate survivors.

Here are some highlights of the exhibition.

Smart Cities technology

Cities, such as Abu Dhabi, are taking advantage of state-of-the-art technology to prevent, monitor and respond to critical incidents. The Safe City Control Centre gave visitors the opportunity to see up close how a smart control room operates. A cleverly kitted-out smart control room should empower staff to react immediately to events with clear communication. In Abu Dhabi, the police service and Saeed, the parking enforcement service, use this technology.

Multiple solutions providers are involved in the Abu Dhabi smart control room, as simulated at ISNR. The set-up is powered by Weytec, using technology from Switzerland. Weytech uses high-end computing for flexibility, security, speed and energy efficiency. It features modular scalable architecture with an interface that allows control centre staff to easily and intuitively toggle between different functions. The smart control room can be extended across multiple sites and works in a mixed-PC environment.

Another provider involved in the Abu Dhabi facility is Trovicor, which supplies end-to-end monitoring and intelligence solutions using German technology. Effective management of critical incidents requires actionable intelligence and, to this end, Trovicor is involved in data generation, analysis, fusion and visualisation. In particular, Trovicor is the map provider for the Abu Dhabi control room. As well as providing the electronic maps, Trovicor leverages the telecommunications network to help the relevant personnel make the best possible decisions during critical incidents.