Emirati innovator dazzles at Best Young Inventors Competition in the US

Young Emirati inventor Ali Al Loughani, a member of the UAE Children’s Parliament, continues to garner international recognition and awards. His impressive journey speaks of a precocious creative spark and a remarkable ability to develop scientific and practical solutions in response to a variety of global challenges.

In his latest achievement, Al Loughani, sponsored and supported by Digital Dubai, won the Best Innovation Award in the Robotics and Artificial Intelligence category at the Best Young Inventors Competition in Dallas, USA, for his project ‘Doctor Robot’. The competition, organised by the American Discover STEM Foundation, featured contestants from elementary and middle schools.

The winning project that Al Loughani presented draws inspiration from the ‘A Doctor for Every Citizen’ initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The ingenious project aims to provide lifesaving interventions and timely assistance to patients, monitoring their condition using advanced technology, especially while responding to clinical cases that require immediate care.

The project also serves to reduce the pressure on hospitals and is especially useful in scenarios like the pandemic when many facilities had to take tough decisions about discharging patients to prevent virus transmission. This innovation enables doctors to monitor patients remotely through an application, making it easier to provide ongoing medical care. Importantly, it allows for remote treatment, enabling patients to receive care at home, with their families able to support them. The robot can be controlled remotely via its dedicated application, enhancing accessibility and convenience.

The project aims to safeguard patients’ health by offering round-the-clock medical consultation, enabling them to contact the doctor anytime, anyplace. It ensures quick response to emergencies and keep the keeps the doctor informed. By utilising the Internet of Things technology, the doctor can easily monitor a patient’s condition. This innovation also reduces the cost of hospitalisation by allowing the device to be used in a patient’s home.

Leveraging AI and IoT technologies

Al Loughani also developed a website that enables doctors to remotely monitor a patient's vital signs such as heart rate, oxygen level, and blood pressure. If the heart rate drops to less than 40, a message is sent promptly to the doctor and the patient’s family.

Likewise, if the blood oxygen level drops to less than 90, a notification is sent to alert the doctor and the patient’s family, ensuring rapid intervention. By leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the invention enables consultants to monitor a patient’s condition round the clock and keep up direct communication from any place. It also allows for tailored medication delivery based on the patient’s follow-up results. If a patient requires hospital intervention, the system will facilitate contact with the hospital to streamline the transportation process.

The Best Young Innovators Competition was originally launched in the United States to identify the top young innovators across the nation. The competition has since expanded globally, inviting a select group of international youth innovators to participate directly as finalists once they are chosen by a distinguished jury.

The prestigious competition provides added incentive for brilliant young minds from the UAE, which has long promoted a culture of innovation and creativity among its youth in alignment with the leadership's vision to empower young talents, enabling them to take the lead in creativity and contribute to shaping the future of the UAE.

It may be recalled that, Al Loughani had received the Leadership Sash and Medal, along with two gold medals at the 6th International Exhibition of Inventions and Trade held in London just a few days back. His participation was sponsored and supported by Digital Dubai, where he stood out among 285 inventors from various countries. Despite being the youngest participant in the exhibition, he succeeded in making his mark with his outstanding inventions.

At the exhibition, Al Loughani showcased two of his groundbreaking inventions. The first, the ‘Ship Accident Prevention Project,’ leverages Artificial Intelligence technologies to enhance safety and environmental protection in the maritime sector. The second invention, the ‘Hydropower’ project, focuses on generating hybrid energy by combining solar power with hydrogen fuel cells, incorporating Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to optimise its efficiency.

Ali Al Loughani has built up an impressive track record, having received numerous awards and honours for his inventions over the years. In 2023, he earned recognition at the 34th session of the Technology, Innovation, and Invention Exhibition in Malaysia for his invention of a robot to assist senior citizens with their daily tasks by using Internet of Things technologies. Competing against 700 inventors from 19 countries, Al Loughani secured second place in the young inventors’ category at the time.