In The World Of Technology, You Are Only As Good As Your Next Innovation Much like the UAE's forward-thinking agenda, Huawei strives to be a leader in innovation.

We live in a time when the pace of technological advances is increasing exponentially and overwhelmingly. Never mind today's groundbreaking product launches- even tomorrow's innovations are always en route to being classed as soon-to-be obsolete, because the day after, those inventions are already in research and development. Why? Because problems that need solving are evolving faster than the solutions to address them.

Successful technology, at its heart, has always been purposed to solve problems, whether of time, space, energy, communication or ability, and even of the mind. Innovation has the power to positively impact economies and societies, all in pursuit of one ultimate common goal: happiness. At Huawei, we understand this velocity all too well. It's why we are one of the top 10 brands in global R&D investment in the world, and we have established 15 research centers globally. Huawei has put more than US$45 billion in R&D in total over the last 10 years.

As we look back on 2017 and look forward to 2018, we predict that the rate of innovation will accelerate rapidly in this pursuit of happiness, especially in the Middle East. Over the past year, we've seen the region take three tremendous leaps towards building a happier future with technology in the field of autonomous vehicles, robots and artificial intelligence (AI). In April, the Dubai government announced that 25% of vehicles in the city will be driverless by 2030. Flying taxis have already taken to the skies, as part of test flights being run by the Emirate's Roads and Transport Authority. In October, the United Arab Emirates appointed the world's first Minister for Artificial Intelligence. The country has also launched a new AI strategy to improve government performance and address national concerns such as traffic accidents, chronic diseases and energy consumption.

Meanwhile, a robot named Sophia made global headlines in October after Saudi Arabia granted her citizenship at a summit in Riyadh, signaling the Kingdom's vision to include robots in its workforce. But this is just the start. These initiatives set the stage for more investment, more research, more development, and more innovation in 2018. Such commitment resonates well with leading technology companies like Huawei that are dedicated to creating innovative devices that help make the lives of their consumers easier, and therefore ultimately happier. The political will for technological advancement will also continue to forge valuable partnerships between tech leaders and government. For example, Huawei has established a partnership with Dubai Smart Government to implement the Happiness Meter in our service centers in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, making it the first consumer technology brand globally to measure customer happiness in real time.

As a multinational tech company, we are also especially excited that we share the same vision as the region- to continuously innovate. Much like the UAE's forward-thinking agenda, we at Huawei are leaders in innovation. This past October, we have launched our most innovative device yet –the Huawei Mate 10– a series of smartphones powered by AI. We at Huawei believe 2018 will set these plans in motion and just as the internet revolution saw businesses innovate to develop solutions that improve lives, companies across the region and globally will now venture into the fields of AI, robotics and autonomous vehicles, to create a whole new wave of possibilities and experiences. With the launch of Huawei's newest chipset Kirin 970 -a mobile artificial intelligence computing platform that runs on a Neural Processing Unit- it goes without saying that AI is an area close to our heart.

Huawei is already the fastest growing smartphone brand in the region, and we will continue to invest in research and development efforts to create devices that understand our customers need; that are more human, transparent and rapid. After all, in the world of technology, you're only as good as your next innovation.

Related: Supporting Startups To Drive Middle East's Digital Economy Innovation