Dubai’s Emotional Twin: Algorithmic Foundations for Emotion-Driven Urban Systems

Overview

This project introduces Dubai’s Emotional Twin, a novel urban intelligence framework that integrates collective emotional signals into real-time city decision-making. The research develops the Urban Mood Index (UMI), a privacy-preserving metric that quantifies emotional states across urban zones using ambient, behavioral, and environmental data rather than direct biometric or sentiment surveillance.

Building on this foundation, the project proposes Emotion-Aware Online Decision Algorithms (EODA) that enable public infrastructure systems to adapt dynamically based on both physical conditions and emotional well-being. The research combines theoretical algorithm design with practical simulation of emotionally responsive urban scenarios, including healthcare demand and crowd dynamics, validated through real-world public service contexts. By enabling infrastructure to sense, predict, and respond to emotional trends ethically and in real time, the project advances a new paradigm of compassionate, adaptive smart cities aligned with Dubai’s digital transformation and well-being strategies.