New NYU research centre announced

A conference at NYU Abu Dhabi's new research centre explored technology in economic development.

ABU DHABI // Weather towers could automatically credit farmers' mobile phones as a cheap and quick form of insurance in times of drought. And small villages in isolated rural areas could one day be connected to a solar-panelled microgrid.

These are a snapshot of the ideas researchers discussed at a conference yesterday at the New York University Abu Dhabi's (NYUAD) new centre for technology and economic development.

The centre is among the first projects to benefit from a US$20 million (Dh73m) NYUAD research grant to fund science and humanities research, and is unique because it is based in Abu Dhabi, and is not an extension of a New York-based project.

"The point is to make an impact here and to help establish Abu Dhabi as a leader in the top research," said Dr Yaw Nyarko, the director of the centre.

"The focus is on poorer countries, but we are hoping that the research will even have an impact on richer countries and that the lessons learnt will be transferred here in the UAE in some way."

As the number of mobile phone users climbs in underdeveloped parts of the world, researchers at the new centre are considering the ways texting and phone credits could be used for commerce in rural markets.

The conference panel included experts from the Masdar Institute and the International Institute of Information Technology in Bangalore, who discussed projects currently being pilot-tested in Africa and Asia.

Dr Nyarko and others are examining the practice of transferring credits, or mobile minutes, as a method of payment.

Mobile phones could also be useful for "telemedicine" to consult with doctors or detect fake drugs.

"In cases where fake drugs to treat malaria contain chalk, that could be ingested and kill someone," Dr Nyarko said.

"By taking a picture of a bar code or the pill itself, we may be able to detect fakes and save lives."