Dubai’s 3D printing industry is having a big week. On Monday Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) announced that it would be pitching potential candidates to Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) for funding from their $100 million Spark Fund, and today Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minster of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai, and founder of Dubai’s 3D Printing Strategy, has launched the Smart Buildability Index. The purpose of the Index is to ensure that all industries start to implement smart technologies into building projects, and that Dubai meets an international technology standard by 2021, as His Highness explained in a statement:
Such Indexes should be developed to ensure standards in the UAE are on par with the highest international benchmarks. Standardization is a positive step that will enable major construction projects to better serve the citizens of the UAE, help them achieve happiness and promote further national progress and prosperity.
Smart Buildings are classified as structures with a heightened connectivity to the world around them. Not only are they constructed by the latest technologies, i.e. 3D printing, they can also be part of Internet of Things with sensors implemented to improve the way people interact with their environment. Some simple examples of the features in a Smart Building are heating systems that monitor the weather in order to adjust the temperature of rooms, and lights that are sensitive to daylight.
The Smart Buildability Index is the latest development in the UAE’s strategy to become a global leader for technology, and also contributes to Dubai’s grand aim to have 3D printing technology used in 25% of its buildings by 2030. A Memorandum of Understanding for the Smart Buildability Index was signed by the Federal Demographic Council, and will be applied to construction projects above 2000 square meters from the beginning of 2017.
Featured image is of The Federal Demographic Council, presided over by Sheikh Mohammed. Photo via: Emirates247
