The UAE is a world Technology Leader in the making – Gaining rapid interest globally with the world’s first unified identity solution - Hive One ID

The UAE due to its progressive nature, decisive leadership and scale is without a doubt one of the only countries in the world that is ready to implement a true Smart Nation. This home-grown technology can be the first step in positioning the UAE as a global technology leader with the ability to channel a substantial part of the future predicted IoT market revenue through the country.

**This article aims to create understanding of the potential of the technology. Detail of the technology is available on request from Hiving Technology.

During 2015 the UAE Rulers in their great visionary style announced a higher policy for the UAE in the fields of science, technology and innovation that will move the UAE into a knowledge economy. The country with its vision to be the first in world has a remarkable track record of delivering on what in many cases might be seen to be the impossible. Instead, like other smart city initiatives that focus on the process, the vision of the Dubai ruler His Highness Sheikh Mohammed is limitless, yet surprisingly simple — to make Dubai the happiest city on Earth. Technology is seen a platform for solutions, is simply to play the role of enabler, the goal remains the happiness of the city’s people, whether citizens, residents or visitors.

The Dubai based company Hiving Technology at about the same time launched their new ground breaking Hive One ID technology solution that aims to address one of the biggest challenges that will impact happiness and quality of life globally - the decay of privacy.

Privacy of ordinary people is compromised daily, with hackers constantly lurking in cyberspace cleverly breaking through defenses and stealing data, but also with that data being legitimately sold, to target us on all fronts with spam and unsolicited marketing.

The cost of identity theft globally is estimated to be $40 billion annually and rapidly increasing but this is just the tip of the iceberg. The Internet of Things in its current unsecured state is rapidly becoming a reality with more and more devices connecting to the internet daily. Analysts predict that there will be more than 20 billion devices connected to the internet by 2020. Consumers unwittingly trade privacy for functionality on electronic devices. Mobile phone software companies already track our every move, mapping and recording our daily routines. Appliances, consoles and home security systems give corporations a window into the private lives of people. You might think that they are immune or underestimate the risk but our digital profiles are already compromised. Most fear that society will get to a stage where big brother is watching our every move. The reality is that thousands of little brothers monitor and aggregate data to obtain commercial benefit, often based on unverified data that is obtained without the consumer’s understanding and that is outdated or incorrect.

This vision of the future is echoed in emerging national legislation around the world:

Including moves towards retention of personally identifiable data not being allowed. However, legislation alone will not solve the problem. Data about people and objects is already stored all over the globe and can no longer be confined to one legal jurisdiction. Policing of cyberspace is virtually impossible as there are several legacy problems with the way data is managed. Every person has multiple identities with the current proliferation and fragmentation of identities required for many silo identification and authorisation systems. Every identity is linked to yet another set of data that partially overlaps data kept in other systems. Big data analytics are based on partially incorrect data all over the globe resulting in profiles about us that we do not even know exist.

Identity is linked to every aspect of your life. Think about the number of identification devices that you currently use to interact with your world, physical keys, remote controls, access cards, and several bank, loyalty and identi?cation cards. Smart phones and computers allow you to interact and identify yourself to objects through applications. Wearable devices add yet another layer of technology to your life. All these diverse identification and interaction methods complicate rather than simplify our world. The Internet of Things connects objects and devices to the internet but still omits to link people to this new connected world through a single, secure and private method.

But what is the solution? A single identity, that is supplier & service agnostic, that link people and objects in the physical as well as digital realms will certainly remove ambiguity. Linking this identity to a single trusted set of data about the person or thing that makes data available only by permission can put ownership of the data back in the hands of the person. This set of trusted data includes all data that is unique to you. For example, national identity data, demographic data, bank and financial data, medical data, data about your preferences, your location data, and data about things or assets to mention just a few. This data is trusted and maintained by the relevant institutions, such as; government would maintain national identity data; and medical institutions would maintain medical records. But the relevant data would be available for use by you when you want to open an account or upgrade your cellphone.

Future technology will become more pervasive and will require identification to occur as you walk into a room or space. This ambient (wireless) identity, together with the location where it is seen, open an entirely new way of servicing people in a simple, private and secure way, positively impacting happiness and quality of life globally – a way to give control back to people in a simple easy way that flows as you go about your daily life.

Hive One ID can provide every person and thing on the planet with ‘one’ unique identity applicable across multiple applications, creating a structured private secure world that is based on choice and personal control, ensuring every interaction is a great service experience while providing a solution to the global challenges faced with security and privacy of the Internet of Things.

How does it work? The ambient identity detects the presence of a person or thing at a specific location. Rules about what actions to take can be defined by location and can even be personalised creating a personalised user experience every step of the way while keeping your data secure and private.

How does Single Identification Technology Impact People?

The best way to understand the capabilities of Hive One ID is to look at a couple of practical examples. Single identification opens a new world of possibilities. The examples refer to identifying people but identifying objects is just as important and forms part of the solution.

Smart city initiatives are rapidly becoming the epicenter for a multitude of IoT applications and use cases, including smart transportation, smart buildings, improved government services and much more. While these use cases initially will be vertical sector-specific, ultimately our cities will become horizontal IoT platforms where individuals can fluidly interconnect to maximize efficiency, productivity and ease-of-use. Hive One ID enable cities to automate all people interactions while personalising communication that is triggered on a Single City Application on your phone as you move through the city or interact with government. Payments can be made either automatically or permission based as required.

Let’s for the moment imagine a journey through the city with your One ID and One ID Application on your phone – all driven by the city applications detecting the presence of your ambient One ID:

• Recommendations about routes and best time to travel is made by the Smart Transportation application based on your regular travel schedule or your requirements today. The information is constantly available on your One ID Application on your phone. Payment is made automatically for train, bus and taxi transport as you use it.
• When you arrive at work the Smart Building applications allows you entry while adjusting the ambient temperature in your office per your preference, making sure the elevators schedule your journey to the 50th floor of the office tower.
• When you require government services that are not available online, the Smart Government application through your One ID Application will guide you every step of the way. You just need to make your way to the closest smart government service center, you are immediately identified and asked on your One ID Application to select service options. Once you made your selection you are routed to the correct counter where they now expect you and can start to ask for more information as you wait or make your way to the service desk. No longer do you need to complete countless repetitive forms.
• To obtain medical services has never been easier. When you arrive at a medical institution such as doctor, dentist, physio-therapist or even hospital, you are immediately identified by your Hive One ID. You will receive a message on your One ID application from the Smart Healthcare application, asking whether you want to make your appropriate medical data available to the practitioner/ institution. On receiving permission, the medical institution will have immediate access to your personal, medical insurance and medical history details. Should you need to be admitted to hospital, admission happens almost automatically as the hospital will have access to all information required. While receiving treatment in the hospital your medical record is updated every step of the way and insurance claims are automated and backed with verified detail.
• When visiting your pharmacy, appropriate summarized details and prescription data is available in an instant and payment can be made using your One ID.
• Shopping has never been easier as your One ID enables the shopping mall and retail stores once you provide permission to activate a Smart Retail experience using your history and preferences to guide you to exactly what you need. On paying with your one ID your shopping history is automatically updated for accounting and warranty purposes.

Once the cities are enabled with One ID technology, Smart Tourism can be implemented guiding tourists through a totally integrated experience that consist of smart airports, smart transport, smart hotel services, smart convention experiences to mention but a few, all aimed at creating a unique and memorable experience.