Dubai's Metaverse Strategy: What is it?

Dubai's vision to position itself as a leading metaverse economy is evident through its strategic investments and innovative initiatives. The city has set a global benchmark for actively participating in the metaverse and developing the space. By integrating 3D internet technology across various sectors, Dubai aims to create a seamless blend of the physical and digital worlds, enhancing the quality of life for its residents and offering a dynamic environment for businesses to thrive. This blog explores Dubai's metaverse strategy and how it can benefit the region economically in sectors like tourism, urban planning, and commerce.

Can Dubai thrive from the metaverse?

Dubai has historically been a leader in embracing technological innovation, adopting technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the metaverse or 3D internet. The Emirate has supported digital and technological advances as it positions itself as a technology hub. In 2016, the city launched the Dubai Blockchain Strategy to become the first city powered by blockchain technology. As of 2020, Dubai was home to over 100 blockchain-based businesses and had successfully announced 24 blockchain use cases across eight industries. 

International investors are also confident in Dubai's innovative business landscape and tech-forward government policies, as reflected by the region's attracting the highest amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the AI and robotics industry globally, as per the Dubai government. The Emirate has also launched the Smart Dubai initiative with a visit to transform it into the world's most innovative and happiest city. The strategy has AI at its core, which aims to propel the vision of achieving smart governance, better resource management, and higher quality of life for its citizens and visitors.

Dubai took a step further in advancing its technology-first agenda by launching the Metaverse Strategy in 2022. The goal is to become a metaverse leader economy by injecting $4 billion into the city's economy and creating 40,000 jobs over the next five years. The strategy will increase the 3D internet's contribution to the country's GDP by 1%. The 3D internet can propel several industries to success, mainly tourism and urban planning. PwC estimates that integrating the metaverse into the travel and tourism sector can create a  $3.2 billion economic opportunity for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. 

Dubai is already adopting metaverse and 3D internet technologies across industries. For instance, the Burj Khalifa virtual experience, launched by Eventcombo, takes visitors through a 3D tour of the world's tallest building. The city is also experimenting with 3D metaverse technology to deliver better services to citizens. The government plans to launch 3D-internet-driven services for the public across education and healthcare, improving access and creating immersive environments.

Virtual tourism and cultural experiences

Enhancing tourism

The metaverse transforms how we explore worlds, creating immersive environments for people to visit stores, attend concerts, experience landmarks, or travel to remote locations. These advances can boost Dubai's tourism sector by allowing people to visit historic districts and futuristic attractions. For instance, Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing launched 'Visit Dubai,' an initiative allowing tourists globally to experience the Emirate's prominent attractions virtually. Tourists can take a 360-degree guided tour of locations like the Dubai Aquarium or the Dubai Mall and experience the place as if they were physically there. 

Cultural preservation

The 3D internet is an excellent tool to preserve and showcase Dubai's heritage. It helps make the Emirate's historical treasures and locations accessible to a global audience through immaculate virtual reconstructions. Dubai's Al Fahidi Historic District, a popular tourist attraction, has been virtually replicated through Dubai 360. Tourists can virtually walk through the neighborhood's alleys in the 3D model and visualize the architecture from the mid-19th century to the 1970s. Visitors can also catch a glimpse of galleries, cafes, and the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding.

Events

Dubai Expo 2020 took to the metaverse to connect with audiences worldwide. The organizers built a digital twin of the site, including 200 buildings and 192 pavilions. Visitors can attend the Expo with friends and family on-site or remotely through this initiative. The experience is available through iOS and Android, making the event inclusive and accessible to a broader audience. Users can also interact more intuitively with other attendees in the virtual Expo by creating an AI-powered avatar.

Smart Cities and digital twins

A smart city focuses on achieving a better quality of life, efficient operations, and sustainability standards by leveraging information and communication technologies (ICT) and the Internet of Things (IoT). These technologies enable the installation of sensors across urban areas to assist in data collection to visualize, monitor, and maintain urban environments and developments like infrastructure, transportation, and energy.

Smart cities use advanced technologies like digital twins to create a dynamic, 3D replica of physical urban landscapes, systems, and objects. These twins integrate historical data with real-time data to make accurate predictions about future trends and problems while suggesting the best plan of action to achieve a specific goal regarding efficiency and sustainability. For instance, digital twins help overcome challenges like alleviating traffic congestion, managing energy consumption spikes, managing infrastructure integrity risks, and allowing a city to become resilient and sustainable.

Dubai's smart city initiatives

The city of Dubai launched the Smart Dubai plan in 2021, which will have a massive impact on the city's urban development and living. The initiative aims to transform the Emirate into one of the world's most innovative and modern cities within seven years. Over 100 projects have been launched across infrastructure, digitalization, clean energy, and sustainable transport that aim to be completed by 2028. The smart city project is also working to use technology to implement seamless and easy-to-access city services for citizens, ensure better internal government efficiency, and access to open data.

One particular project under the Smart City initiative is using artificial intelligence (AI) to monitor the stress and fatigue levels of bus drivers, which has significantly reduced the number of accidents, as per Dubai's Road Transit Authority. Dubai is also working to turn 25% of all journeys into driverless autonomous vehicles by 2030.

Benefits of digital twins

Digital twins of urban environments are constantly updated with data from sensors embedded in their physical counterparts, helping urban planners and policymakers analyze insights, monitor systems, and run simulations. 

These 3D replicas have a broad range of advantages in urban planning in enhancing sustainability and efficiency. Here are some primary benefits:

• Optimization of traffic management: Sensors on public transport and street cameras help feed data into digital twins to help them identify bottlenecks, manage signal timings, and optimize routes for public transport systems. Historial data also helps improve traffic management during peak times by suggesting measures to avoid congestion.

• Reduction of energy consumption:  Digital twins can visualize a city's real energy consumption. This ability helps stakeholders identify patterns that help facilities develop better strategies to optimize energy use and manage the integration of renewable energy sources like solar and wind.

• Monitoring and maintaining infrastructure: City officials can use digital twins to closely monitor a city's critical infrastructure, such as tunnels, bridges, and utility facilities. This real-time representation of structures helps identify potential issues and address them proactively before they become serious.

• Management of facilities: Digital twins help optimize the usage of facilities like HVAC systems and lighting. They also help facility managers view each piece of equipment at the component level to ensure it is working properly.

Business and commerce

Businesses have taken a strong interest in the metaverse's creator economy and the ability to elevate daily tasks like shopping, attending events, and socializing through immersive and engaging environments. Accenture's findings suggest that growing interest among consumers and businesses could create a $1 trillion opportunity by 2025. Experts predict that the metaverse is bound to become integral to our daily lives, with 54% agreeing this could be a reality by 2040, as per Rapyd. These changing behaviors create a massive economic potential for the burgeoning 3D digital space for retailers, brands, and service companies.

Virtual marketplaces and showrooms are becoming increasingly popular among businesses looking to connect with a broader audience by blending the physical and online worlds. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) help enhance the shopping experience by allowing customers to try on products or experience them before purchase. Virtual demos and interactive product displays are also unique ways for businesses to attract consumers and drive sales. This level of interactivity also helps boost engagement, ultimately increasing sales and driving up customer loyalty.

Dubai has already entered the metaverse commerce space with the launch of the Virtual Dubai Mall, the Majid Al Futtaim's Mall of the Metaverse in Decentraland. This virtual shopping experience aims to enhance customer engagement and convenience. The mall offers leisure, entertainment, and shopping experiences for visitors. It also has a range of brands, including Carrefour, the Samsung Store, VOX Cinemas, THAT Concept Store, and Ghawali.

How the 3D internet can boost Dubai's digital economy

As Dubai continues to embrace the 3D internet under its Metaverse Strategy, the city is poised to boost its economic potential, create jobs, and attract over 1000 companies to leverage 3D internet and blockchain technology. His Excellency Abdulla bin Touq also recently announced the launch of the Ministry of Economy's metaverse office with a vision to make the UAE one of the world's top 10 metaverse economies. Dubai aims to be one of the key players in advancing the region's metaverse growth by capitalizing on innovations and economic opportunities in sectors like retail, real estate, tourism, and government services. This new digital economy established by the metaverse will allow individuals and trade to move quickly across the globe, increase visibility, and reduce disruptions in business networks.