ATRC creates lab to market programme; Five years of Smart Dubai
Good morning,
Here’s this week’s Middle East AI News!
Lots of news to share this week, including the yesterday's announcement that the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) has launched a new unit to plan, fund and facilitate new R&D programmes in Abu Dhabi. The ATRC was formed earlier this year to define drive Abu Dhabi's research and development agenda.
Meanwhile, Bangalore AI chatbot platform Verloop.io announced its first new UAE deal since setting up in Abu Dhabi, revealing that it is the developer behind Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's chat banking, a chatbot that is able to understand Emirati Arabic. ADQ's $300 million Alpha Wave Incubation (AWI) fund invested in Verloop's Series-A round earlier this year (see Middle East AI News August 27)
Also Smart Dubai celebrates 5 years of innovation; the new smart health lab in Dubai that can analyse thousands of samples per day, reducing some types of analysis to a few seconds; robotics competitions; AI diplomacy; and a GITEX 2020 roundup from Gulf Business. Scroll down for more!
Stay safe & have a great weekend!
/Carrington
R&D
ATRC launches ‘ASPIRE’ to drive creation of future transformative technologies — wam.ae
#UAE #R&D - Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) has announced ASPIRE, its dedicated technology programme management unit to facilitate a clear path from ‘lab to market' for R&D in the emirate. The ATRC was formed earlier this year to drive the agenda for Abu Dhabi R&D. (Emirates News Agency)
How Abu Dhabi aims to become a global hub for tech innovation — www.arabianbusiness.com
#UAE #R&D - The Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) has selected 45 UAE nationals to join NexTech, a technology research talent development programme, as part of a broader strategy to turn Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE into a global hub for advanced technological innovation. (Arabian Business)
Nokia and stc launch the operation of Technology Innovation Centre to stimulate innovation — www.nokia.com
#Saudi #innovation - Nokia and stc launch the operation of Technology Innovation Centre to stimulate innovation. The centre will carry out initiatives to develop use cases to support Saudi Government’s Vision 2030, using Nokia’s Open Network Ecosystem. (Nokia)
Smart Cities
Smart Dubai celebrates 5 years of accomplishments, successes — www.wam.ae
#UAE #SmartDubai - Smart Dubai gears up to celebrate its fifth anniversary, looking back at a series of achievements it has made along its journey to establish Dubai into the smartest and happiest city in the world. (Emirates News Agency)
Hazen.ai wins the IRF Global Road Achievement Award for best use of AI in traffic safety — www.prnewswire.com
#Saudi #transport - A next-generation edge-based solution, Hazen.ai's computer vision software takes home top honors in the Intelligent Traffic Systems (ITS) category of the 2020 IRF Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA). (PR Newswire)
Huawei pitches plan to transform underdeveloped cities in Egypt — www.salaamgateway.com
#China #Egypt #smartcities - Egypt’s New Administrative Capital (NAC) is a strategic customer for Chinese technology firm Huawei, due to its massive investment opportunities, according to Michael Lee, head of corporate group at Huawei North Africa. (Salaam Gateway)
AI Policy
The UAE eyes AI supremacy: A key strategy for the 21st century — www.mei.edu
#UAE #AIpolicy - The UAE is laying the groundwork for regional supremacy in AI. By fostering a web of novel institutions and partnerships, the Gulf state aims to augment its capacity to execute lofty AI policy initiatives. (Middle East Institute)
Healthcare
New medical lab in Dubai can analyse samples in less than 60 seconds — www.khaleejtimes.com
#UAE #healthcare - Dubai Health Authority (DHA) inaugurated a smart biochemistry laboratory — equipped with AI and high-speed devices — at Dubai Hospital on Tuesday. The first-of-its-kind lab can perform thousands of tests per hour. (Khaleej Times)
AI Chatbots
Verloop.io collaborates with ADIB to launch UAE's first Emirati chatbot — www.zawya.com
#UAE #chatbots - Customer experience AI automation platform Verloop.io has announced one of its first UAE deals since setting up in Abu Dhabi, revealing that it is the developer behind the first Emirati Arabic customer care chatbot. (Zawya)
Digital Transformation
Almarai working with McKinsey and SAP on digital transformation — www.consultancy-me.com
#Saudi #digitaltransformation - Saudi dairy company Almarai is working together with McKinsey & Company and SAP on the next phase of its digital transformation strategy. The company is eyeing a suite of intelligent technologies to optimise its operations, supply chains and customer processes. (Consultancy ME)
Etisalat moves towards autonomous network with Blue Planet — www.zawya.com
#UAE #telecom - Blue Planet is helping UAE telecom service provider Etisalat create autonomous network, reducing manual operations and automating order-to-service processes, whilst reducing the time it takes to introduce new services by 70 to 90 percent according to a press release. (Zawya)
Robotics
EGA shortlists four UAE student teams for third annual industrial robot competition — www.zawya.com
#UAE #robotics- Four student teams from UAE universities have been selected to build prototypes in this year’s edition of an EGA industrial robotics competition. Three of the teams are from Abu Dhabi University, whilst the fourth is made up of students from Heriot Watt University in Dubai. (Zawya)
Robotics team mentored by Texas A&M at Qatar finishes 19th at FIRST Global Challenge — menafn.com
#Qatar #robotics - Team Qatar has finished in 19th place among 175 teams worldwide in the FIRST Global Challenge, an 'Olympics-style robotics event. The team is part of Texas A & M University at Qatar's STEM Hub Robotics Club (SHRC), a joint initiative between the QF partner university and the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).
AI Diplomacy
China a key partner in kingdom's transformation into an innovation-based economy — news.cgtn.com
#China #Saudi #digitaleconomy - Saudi Arabia is looking to strengthen its partnership with China on the technological front as the Kingdom sets its goal of transforming into an innovation-based economy, according to Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah A Alswaha speaking ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit. (CGTN)
UAE, Ethiopia looking to cooperate in AI — addisstandard.com
#Ethiopia #UAE #diplomacy - The UAE and Ethiopia are discussing ways to cooperate in the AI field, according to the UAE Embassy in Addis Ababa. Embassy officials recently met the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Ethiopia (AIC). (Addis Standard)
Events
Gitex 2020: Everything you need to know — gulfbusiness.com
#UAE #GITEX2020 - GITEX 2020 is the only major global tech event set to be held live next month at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Conference topics include AI, 5G and smart cities. (Gulf Business)
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About Carrington Malin — www.carringtonmalin.com
Carrington Malin is a UAE-based entrepreneur, marketer and writer who focuses on emerging technologies.