Abu Dhabi launches AI & robotics climate tech venture

ATRC's Nabat will leverage latest technology to drive mangrove forestation

Dec 11, 2024

#UAE #environment - Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) - via its commercialisation arm VentureOne - has unveiled a pioneering climate tech startup leveraging AI and robotics to restore mangroves and other ecosystems. Launched at the International Mangrove Conservation and Restoration Conference, Nabat aims to transform conservation with scalable, cost-efficient technology.

SO WHAT? - Mangrove forests face significant threats from coastal development, tourism, pollution, and climate change. Coastal development often replaces mangroves with man-made structures, while pollution can further degrade these ecosystems. Climate change intensifies the risks through rising sea levels, higher sea temperatures, and increased storm frequency, endangering one-third of assessed mangroves. According to the IUCN, 50% of mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse, with nearly 20% classified as Endangered or Critically Endangered. The UAE, home to the largest mangrove coverage in the Arabian Gulf, aims to counteract these threats by planting 100 million mangroves by 2030.

Here are a few more details about this launch:

The Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) announced in July that it would launch three new high profile tech ventures by the end of this year. Nabat is the third of these new ventures.
This week VentureOne launched Nabat, to develop AI and autonomous robotics to help the UAE restore thousands of hectares of mangroves by 2030.
Mangroves store up to five times more carbon than rainforests, making their preservation critical for the UAE's net-zero goals and global climate efforts.
The initiative to restore thousands of hectares of mangroves across the UAE over the next seven years, will leverage drones, AI-driven software, and advanced seeding mechanisms.
Nabat’s technologies ensure precision mapping, seeding, and monitoring, enabling tailored restoration strategies that minimize environmental disruption.
Data-driven conservation is at the core of Nabat’s approach, using AI to analyze soil, hydrology, and other habitat characteristics for customized strategies.
Unlike traditional methods, Nabat’s solutions are designed for efficiency, reducing labour intensity and ensuring minimal ecological impact, even in hard-to-reach areas.
While the initial focus is on mangroves, Nabat plans to expand into deserts, farmlands, forests, and coral reefs across the region.

ZOOM OUT - Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) formed VentureOne in 2022 as a commercialisation unit to bring innovative research solutions to market at speed, and monetise IP being generated in the research labs of ATRC’s applied research arm Technology Innovation Institute (TII). VentureOne announced AI71 in 2023, to build AI platforms and solutions on top of the Falcon foundation large language model developed by TII. SteerAI, a venture to develop autonomous vehicles solutions, and QuantumGate, a venture to offer advanced data security products, were both launched in November. Nabat is the fourth venture to be created under the umbrella of VentureOne.

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