18 times the UAE wowed the world in 2017

As the UAE continues to grow and amaze on several fronts simultaneously, 2017 was yet another year of incredible achievements that made the country stand out as a global leader in innovation.

StepFeed looks at 18 moments this nation, its people, and ideas collectively turned the worlds' head over the course of the year.

The city’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) teamed up with a Germany-based specialist manufacturer called Volocopter to unveil the world's first ever self-flying taxi service. 

Although no official launch date has been announced, the two-seater Autonomous Air Taxi (AAT) is already being trialed around Dubai.

As part of a cabinet reshuffle in October, the UAE government announced that it has hired the world’s first Minister of Artificial Intelligence. 

27-year-old Omar bin Sultan Al Olama will be responsible for using AI technologies to make things more efficient and streamlined.

In February, the UAE Space Agency announced that it will establish the first-ever inhabitable human settlement on Mars before 2117. They’re already collaborating with international space organizations and scientific institutes to build the city on the Red Planet.

The country is also set to celebrate its 50th birthday in style by sending an unmanned craft to the planet Mars.

In other space-related developments, the eyes of the world were firmly on the UAE’s skies in October when a flaming fireball was spotted over Dubai and Abu Dhabi. 

After mistakenly being labeled as a meteor, it was confirmed that the spectacle was only the remnants of a Russian cargo spacecraft which was being used to re-supply the International Space Station (ISS).

In August, Abu Dhabi was named the safest city in the world by Numbeo, a crowd-sourced global database. With a crime index of just 13.54 and an impressive safety index of 86.46, the UAE’s capital came out on top over second-placed Basel in Switzerland.

Dubbed as the first universal museum in the Arab world, the Louvre Abu Dhabi opened its doors to the public on November 11. It showcases more than 700 artifacts and art pieces from around the globe, including Leonardo da Vinci’s La Belle Forrenniere.

Ras Al Khaimah is soon going to be home to the longest zip-line in the world. The country’s highest peak, Jebel Jais, will hold the record of hosting the longest zip-line, which is reportedly going to be longer than 28 football fields.

Dubai’s police force has a reputation for embracing the latest technology so it wasn’t surprising when they unveiled a brand new hoverbike in October. 

By 2020, their aim is to use the futuristic vehicles - which are built by a Russian company called Hoversurf - to reach emergencies more quickly.

When Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan announces a fitness challenge, you know it’s going to be good. 

The Dubai Fitness Challenge 30x30 encouraged residents as well as employees of public and private companies in the emirate to commit to 30 minutes of exercise every day for 30 days. 

In the end, the initiative was a resounding success with hundreds of thousands of individuals taking part across the UAE.

In 2017, the UAE also impressed the world in the medical field. In July, Dr. Fariborz Bagheri, the Head of Urology at Dubai Hospital, successfully removed the world’s largest kidney from a 56-year-old man. 

The kidney weighed in at a whopping 4.25 kg and had to be removed because it was infected with a polycystic disease.

In May, Dubai Police surprised the world once again when it welcomed the first-ever operational robot policeman to its force. 

In addition to being able to transmit and communicate in six different languages including Arabic and English, the new recruit can also use facial recognition technology to help identify and catch offenders.

In January, Dubai Civil Defense unveiled a potential game-changer for firefighters. The Dolphin water jetpack system allows firefighters to put out blazes from the air by using water pressure from a jet ski to lift them up in the air.

After suffering four airport closures because of irresponsible drone users in 2016, Dubai said enough was enough. 

Local aviation authorities introduced groundbreaking drone tracking and geo-fencing technology, making all of the city’s airports safer than most around the world from unmanned aerial vehicles.

In April, artists from across the UAE joined hands to dazzle the world by creating the largest ever stencil image. Measuring a gigantic 11.13 square meters, the stunning work was a depiction of Dubai’s skyline completed with popular superheroes like Batman and Superman.

In 2017, the UAE also became the proud home of the largest flower arrangement on the planet. The dazzling arrangement, which was created by Dubai Miracle Garden, utilized more than 500,000 fresh flowers and living plants and emulates the shape of an Airbus A380 aircraft.

This year, Dubai Police’s fleet of flashy supercars was completed with style. They acquired the Bugatti Veyron in March, and with a hardly believable top speed of 407 km/h, it is now officially the world's fastest police car in service.

When an Abu Dhabi-based eco-firm announced plans to haul icebergs from Antarctica to the UAE, many laughed it off as a hoax. However, as it turned out, the National Advisor Bureau was actually really serious about their idea to harvest pure drinking water from massive blocks of ice.

Although the aspiration was eventually shot down by the UAE’s Ministry of Energy, the firm says it’s still looking for new ways to bring fresh water to the country.

Taking Dubai’s Smart City initiative a step further, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) capped off 2017 by showing off its Smart Pedestrian Signal.

The technology, which hopes to allow pedestrians to cross roads more safely, is triggered by sensors connected to the ground which are synced with traffic lights.