DUBAI, 19 OCT 2014 -This dazzling technology showcase in the desert is no oasis.
It’s part of a big “smart government” programme being developed by tech-hungry emirs and tech-savvy Emiratis.
In a packed hall at Dubai’s World Trade Centre, the Gulf’s technology event of the year, Gitex, is taking place. This year, many of the innovations have been built to not only look good, but to do good.
Much of this year’s buzz surrounds a refitted sports car, the Lotus Evora, being dubbed the fastest ambulance on earth.
It’s not uncommon to see sports cars on Dubai’s sand-laden streets, as it basks in its vast oil-driven wealth, and the police already own several.
Now its paramedics can also travel at speeds of up to 300km/h (185mph) and cut their response time by minutes.
Quick draw
“One second would be the difference between life and death. Anyone who needs to be rescued will care about getting reached in a short time,” one of the new car’s drivers, 29-year-old Zaid Al Mamari, a paramedic with the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services explains.
The new fleet includes two Ford Mustangs and, soon, a Chevrolet Corvette.
Dubai’s 50 paramedics will have to take driving lessons before using the $160,000 (£100,000; €125,000) car, to help them navigate Dubai’s often terrible traffic. This includes Mr Al Mamari, who already owns two sports cars.
Inside the two-seater, just above a small control box for the siren and flashing light, a hard-cased widescreen notebook sits among the Lotus’s lush leather interiors.
It can transmit information that the paramedics gather about the patient back to the hospital, or to an incoming crew.
A defibrillator and first aid kit squeeze in behind the driver’s seat, with an oxygen supply in the boot.
Mr Al Mamari expects the cars will be used every day once they are in operation, by the end of the year – after being paraded around town for publicity.
Source: BBC
