$3.4b funding for Lucid KSA plant: Students design bomb disposal robot

Good morning!

Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!

Electric vehicle company Lucid Motors is in the news this week announcing deals for $3.4 billion in investment and incentives for its planned production plant in Saudi Arabia. Also see my Linkedin newsletter 28-Apr-22 for my story on the future factory.

Scroll down for stories from this week about education initiatives, drones and smart cities. Of note is that the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) says that there are now 181 commercial drone companies licenced to operate drones in the UAE.

Stay safe and have a great day!

/Carrington

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Industry 4.0

PIF-backed Lucid Motors secures $3.4b in funding to set up first overseas production factory in Saudi Arabia — www.arabnews.com

#Saudi #investment - US-based electric vehicle startup Lucid Motors signed agreements to build a production factory in Saudi Arabia with an annual capacity of 155,000 zero-emission EVs. Financing and incentive deals signed total $3.4 billion over the next 15 years, with Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) providing $1.3 billion in finance for the production plant. (Arab News)

Education

Dubai students invent robot that can disarm explosives in war zones — www.khaleejtimes.com

#UAE #bombdisposal - A group of university students in the UAE have developed an autonomous robotic device that can disarm explosives. Students from Canadian University Dubai (CUD) have developed a safe, and cost-effective solution to neutralise hazardous environments. (Khaleej Times)

Kuwait wins gold in Arab AI Olympiad — www.kuwaittimes.com

#Kuwait #AIO2022 - Kuwait’s team won first place in the Internet of Things (IoT) category in the Arab Artificial Intelligence Olympiad (AIO 2022) held in Jordan for their ‘Blue Tech Lunar Base’ project. (Kuwait Times)

New York Academy of Sciences and Ericsson team up to launch STEM innovation challenge — www.intelligentcio.com

#Oman #STEM - The New York Academy of Sciences and Ericsson have partnered in a two-year programme to provide 200 students in Oman an opportunity to collaborate on a global Internet of Things (IoT) science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) innovation challenge. (Intelligent CIO)

Autonomous Vehicles

Teksbotics and Alshrouq pilot last-mile autonomous delivery in Saudi Arabia — www.globenewswire.com

#Saudi #AVs - Teksbotics and Alshrouq Express started a pilot of last-mile autonomous delivery in the King Abdullah University of Science and Technologies (KAUST). Taksbotics's purpose-built AV, the UNO Commuter, provides the daily last-mile delivery services from the KAUST’s campus mail room to the KAUST Island Residence Area. (Global Newswire)

Drones

UAE innovation poised to revolutionise remote offshore inspections — www.seatrade-maritime.com

#UAE #oil&gas - Defuzzy Labs, a robotics company specialising in unmanned systems based in Sharjah, has collaborated with SubUAS, the US company behind the Naviator Air-Sea Drone platform, to demonstrate a robotics fleet management solution for maritime inspection of offshore assets. (Seatrade Maritime)

UAE now has 181 licenced commercial drone services companies — www.zawya.com

#UAE #drones - The number of commercial drone operators registered with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is increasing. There are now 181 commercial drone companies licenced to operate drones, 870 registered commercial drones and some 20,000 private drone users. (Zawya)

Skye Air partners with Aster DM Healthcare for end-to-end deliveries drone trial — www.itln.in

#India #dronedelivery - New Delhi-based drone delivery firm Skye Air Mobility is running an end-to-end delivery trial in Bengaluru for Aster DM Healthcare. If successful, this could roll out to other locations, even the UAE. (ITLN)

Smart Cities

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman City selects solutions by stc to implement Smart City strategy — www.arabnews.com

#Saudi #smartcities - Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Nonprofit City, a new development in the west of Riyadh, has appointed 'solutions by stc' to implement its smart city strategy. This will include a digital twin, a modular data centre and a command and control centre. (Arab News)

Knowledge City at Egypt's New Administrative Capital nears completion — www.egypttoday.com

#Egypt #NewCapital - The 'Knowledge City' in the New Administrative Capital, which will be a hub for research and innovation using advance technologies, is nearing completion according to Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. (Egypt Today)

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About Carrington Malin — www.carringtonmalin.com Carrington Malin helps large organisations, digital brands and fast growing tech ventures with brand, communications and go-to-market strategies.