Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a Global Village drone

The tourist attraction has a 1kg drone flying overhead for logistics and crowd control - and it only cost Dh6,400.

Ahmad Almarri demonstrates the precision take off and landing of the Phantom 2 quadcopter camera drone that Global Village uses for security purposes. Duncan Chard for the National

DUBAI // With all the carnival rides, bright lights and cacophony of sounds at Global Village, most people would not have spotted the little white UFO hovering above, helping to keep everyone in line.

The red and green lights of the Phantom 2 drone blend in well with the hubbub of the village, a cultural entertainment and international shopping experience.

At just 35cm wide by 19cm high, the four-propeller drone is barely visible once airborne, yet its high-definition camera keeps a close eye on the busiest parts of the village.

“Our primary objective in getting this aircraft was for logistics and crowd control,” said Ahmed bin Essa, the executive director of operations at Global Village.

“We wanted to keep an eye on the gates and parking area, just so we could see if we need to deploy more staff to a certain area to keep the foot traffic smooth.”

It is also used to monitor performers to see how many people they attract and then adjust the schedule of the performances to obtain the best results.

The drone has also been able to point out areas that require lighting and technical adjustments.

The Phantom 2 is connected to the administration network through Wi-Fi at all times, and streams live images to smartphones and tablets.

“Security was a secondary objective. The health and safety of our visitors is of paramount importance, of course, and we always coordinate with the police on security matters,” Mr bin Essa said.

“It was just happenstance that we also get to use it for marketing. The aircraft is equipped with a very high-quality camera that can take photos and video from unique perspectives, and we have been sharing them on our social-media portals.

"The idea came to us the day they announced at the Government Summit that we should look at using new technologies, such as these aircraft. By the next day we had bought one and were testing it." The 1kg drone, along with all its accessories, including extra batteries, cost Dh6,400.

“It has already paid for itself in my opinion,” Mr bin Essa said. “This season is almost over, but we want to get some more of these aircraft next season and look at how to best utilise them.”

The Phantom 2 has a battery life of 25 minutes and it passed the team’s safety test with flying colours.

“We took all the safety precautions and tested the aircraft for a week during the day while the village was closed to the public. We carried out mitigation risk assessments, even for the operators,” said Mr bin Essa.

“It has exceeded our expectations, especially the GPS features. The craft, if it gets low on battery or loses connection with the controller, will automatically return to the spot where it was turned on.”

Mr bin Essa said they were now working on setting routes for the Phantom and sending it out on autopilot – “we want to remove human error from the equation”.