Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation (SRTI) Park, recently welcomed VirtuE R&D, a world-class Spanish company specialized in the development of AI application for phycology. The company has plans to launch a scientific research center to pursue the development of game-based digital programs, utilizing AI technologies to promote a more self-conscious society.
This addition stresses the prestigious position of Sharjah RTI Park as a regional beacon for scientific R&D. "This addition to our community comes in line with the vision and directives of H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and the sovereign ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, aiming to develop all methodologies and approaches of learning and sustainable knowledge transfer to the local community in Sharjah and the UAE.", said Hussein Al Mahmoudi, CEO of Sharjah RTI Park.
The launch of this project also reflects a major step-forward to bring about the necessary up-to-date expertise and technology through knowledge transfer to help achieve development and success in this rapidly changing world by transferring the necessary modern skills, knowledge and science. "I am very delighted to welcome VirtuE R&D to the Sharjah RTI Park to turn into a hub for regional development for future science and innovative technologies for the good of Sharjah and the UAE.", said Al Mahmoudi.
These partnerships built up by the Sharjah RTI Park are in line with the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, aimed to break the ice for the UAE to become best in all areas worldwide and to achieve the objectives of the UAE Centennial 2071 through the highly efficient investment and application of the latest AI technologies and tools in all fields of work, along with the optimal investment of all potentials, and employing the available human and physical resources and capabilities in a creative manner that helps accelerate the execution of development programs and projects to reach the future.
Over years of research into deep psychology and experimental psychotherapy, the founders of the project, Elisabet Calomarde (BS in Psychology) and Marc Herrero (EMBA), , have developed an own methodology of using offline, face-to-face therapy to understand how the unconscious mind processes emotions and forms memories. Both project founders are driven by their strong desire and passion to participate in the project and contribute to its success in cooperation with the Sharjah RTI Park.
"We are now in the course of incorporating in Sharjah, one of the world’s leading cities in AI research, in partnership with the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park for developing a proprietary vehicle-based software whose therapeutic applications are wide-ranging and have previously achieved success in test cases. Using deep learning processes based on Affective Computing and Artificial Neural Networks, we aim to compute the mapping of the human limbic system through a game-based, wholly digitised therapy system, capable of replicating exactly every benefit provided by a human therapist, but at a fraction of the cost and free from the human error, such as non-objective diagnoses and personal projections, that traditional therapy is heir to." said project founders. "Thanks to the support of the Sharjah RTI Park, renowned throughout the world for its commitment to and investment in AI technologies and the entrepreneurial environment it fosters, we are now pursuing further partnerships with various academic institutions and corporations with the aim of expanding our IP, along with developing prototypes and an MVP."
It is worth mentioning that our research and development team has a myriad of applications for software that can in turn offer solutions to a wide variety of mental health issues, including workplace wellness, the prevention and treatment of anxiety and addiction, and ADHD in children.
According to the W.H.O., mental disorders affect one of every four people globally and represent one of the most frequent causes of illness and disability worldwide. Every day hundreds of millions of people suffering from a mental disorder go untreated, due to the prohibitively high cost of and limited access to a human therapist, as well as the dissuading power of all associated stigmas.
The Health and Wellness market, valued today at a whopping $4.2 trillion, has grown by 12.8% over the last two years, according to The Global Wellness Institute.
Finally speaking, VIRTUE is very much committed to transparency. User data will be held securely, managed solely by us, and will never be sold or passed on to any third party as is the norm in the technology industry.