Dubai to draft metaverse strategy; Personal eVTOLs shipping to Abu Dhabi
Good morning!
Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!
Dubai's metaverse initiatives continue to roll-out, aiming to position the emirate as the first choice for new metaverse tech firms. At this early stage, it's hard to predict what impact these may have, but this week a new committee was formed to develop a Dubai Metaverse Strategy within the next two months.
Also, former head of Group 42's research institute in Abu Dhabi, Professor Ling Shao, has been appointed as president of Terminus International, based in Dubai. The District 2020-based company is a subsidiary of Chongqing-headquartered smart city tech firm Terminus Group, also known as the Expo 2020 official robotics partner.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Shahoud, a Syrian refugee has won the million dollar One Million Arab Coders challenge! Good luck to him!
Lastly, the word has it that the much awaited second edition of the Global AI Summit in Riyadh will now take place from September 13th to 15th this year. Details have yet to be announced by the organisers, Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). The first summit was held in October 2020 and provided the venue for the official launch of Saudi Arabia's national artificial intelligence strategy.
Stay safe and have a great day!
/Carrington
Metaverse
Dubai ruler forms higher committee to develop Dubai Metaverse Strategy — www.arabianbusiness.com
#UAE #metaverse - Dubai has formed a committee to develop a Dubai Metaverse Strategy, and supervise all 'future technological developments'. The committee's first task will be to develop the new strategy within the next two months. (Arabian Business)
Startups
HONO plans expansion to UAE, Singapore and Indonesia, after Series A funding round — timesofindia.indiatimes.com
#India #UAE #funding - AI-driven human resources platform HONO announces plans to expand to the UAE, after closing a Series A funding round led by Aakash Chaudhry, managing director of Aakash+BYJU’s. (Times of India)
XenonStack global expansion in UAE and USA — aithority.com
#UAE #USA #startups - California-based cloud native data intelligence company XenonStack has announced global expansion plans, including plans to hire more than 1000 developers spread across its Global Delivery Centre in Dubai and in the Chandigarh/Mohali area of India. (AIthority)
R&D
QCRI builds new cyber security defence platform — menafn.com
#Qatar #cybersecurity - Scientists at Hamad Bin Khalifa University's Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), in partnership with Qatari stakeholders and Turkish partners, have successfully built an AI-powered cyber security defence platform named 'WARNING'. (MENA FN)
Coding
Sheikh Hamdan awards Syrian refugee $1m for winning coding competition in Dubai — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #Turkey #coding - A Syrian refugee has been named the winner of One Million Arab Coders, a competition to encourage Arabs to train as computer coders. Mahmoud Shahoud clinched the $1 million prize after undergoing training and developing the competition's winning software project. (The National)
Entertainment
SenseTime brings AI-powered extended reality experiences to Riyadh Season — www.sensetime.com
#Saudi #RiyadhSeason - SenseTime worked closely with Riyadh Season organisers to transform the 5-month festival (which ended in March) with mixed reality, according to an announcement from the Hong Kong-based AI company. (SenseTime)
Inside Egypt's robot fighting scene! — cairoscene.com
#Egypt #robotics - The final day of the Alamein Robotics Championship at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)'s Alamein Campus in New Alemein City was held recently. The event is one of the MENA region's biggest baddest robot fighting contests. (Cairo Scene)
Smart Cities
How Abu Dhabi Police's new high-tech unit keeps the capital's roads safe — gulfnews.com
#UAE #traffic - Abu Dhabi Police has launched a Safe City Section is an Information Communication Technology hub that uses AI to boost traffic safety in the emirate. The hub processes huge volumes of data to support officials in monitoring and analysing traffic related issues, including accidents and crime. (Gulf News)
Drones
Jetson personal eVTOLs are officially coming to Abu Dhabi this year — www.dubailad.com
#UAE #mobility - Swedish ‘personal electric aerial vehicle’ makers Jetson are leading the way when it comes to personal flights and they’re shipping four of their Jetson One flying vehicles to Abu Dhabi. (Dubai Lad)
Satellite, drones and AI to monitor quality of soil in Abu Dhabi — www.zawya.com
#UAE #environment - The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) is beginning the second phase of a soil monitoring project to assess soil health, using remote drone sensing technology, satellite imagery, handheld spectrometers and AI. (Khaleej Times)
Oman uses drones for mine mapping and 3D models — www.dronefromchina.com
#Oman #drones - Opaz (the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones) and Marmul Integrated Company have conducted several experiments and aerial surveys using drones at a mine at the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (Sezad). (Dronefromchina.com)
Education
UAEU team wins 4th Emirates Global Aluminum robotics competition — www.wam.ae
#UAE #robotics - A student team from the College of Engineering at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) won the 4th annual industrial robots competition organised by the Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA). (Emirates News Agency)
Ericsson offers STEM education programme to students in Oman — www.zawya.com
#Oman #STEM - The New York Academy of Sciences and Ericsson have partnered in a two-year program to provide two hundred students in Oman an opportunity to collaborate on a global Internet of Things (IoT) STEM Innovation Challenge. (Zawya)
Oman LNG to fund STEM education projects — www.omanobserver.om
#Oman #STEM - Oman's Ministry of Education has signed two agreements with Oman Liquefied Natural Gas Company (Oman LNG) to fund a STEM training programe for 320 students in four different governorates. (Oman Observer)
Saudi made robot wows ICEE visitors — www.zawya.com
#Saudi #ICEE - X-Life, a robot created by Saudi hands, wowed visitors in the International Education Conference and Exhibition for Education (ICEE 2022). The robot roamed the education exhibition interacting with visitors. (Zawya)
AI Policy
CITC Announces the Launch of the Emerging Technologies Regulatory Sandbox — www.citc.gov.sa
#Saudi #regulation - Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has announced the launch of the Emerging Technologies Regulatory Sandbox, accepting applications 10 May through 7 July 2022. (CITC)
Corporate Moves
Terminus Group appoints Dubai-based president for Terminus International — www.zawya.com
#China #UAE #Terminus - Terminus Group, the robotics partner of Expo 2020 Dubai which has located its MENA headquarters in Dubai, has appointed Dr. Ling Shao, as president of Terminus International. (Zawya)
Smart Cities
Neom: Saudi super city to have millions of ‘Neomians’ by 2030 — www.thenationalnews.com
#Saudi #NEOM - Saudi Arabia's NEOM — the kingdom's $500 billion city of the future — will have rwo million residents by 2030, the project’s head of tourism has said. People are expected to begin arriving in 2024. (The National)
AI Diplomacy
Karnataka ties up with Bahrain to boost AI and Fintech startup ecosystem — inc42.com
#Bahrain #India - The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Department of Information Technology; Biotechnology; and Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, have signed an MoU to promote cooperation in AI, fintech and other emerging technologies. (Inc42)
Defence
US Navy works with allies to expand use of unmanned vessels in Middle East — www.arabnews.com
#GCC #USA #USVs - The US Navy is enhancing its security operations in the Gulf and the Middle East regions, one of its commanders said on Wednesday, through the use of AI-powered unmanned vessels. (Arab News)
Bahrain Defence Force selects BATS coastal surveillance system — www.unmannedairspace.info
#Bahrain #antidrone - The Bahrain Defence Forces (BDF) has selected Belgian Advanced Technology Systems (BATS), manufacturer of the Anti-drone Guard X-band, phased array, Pulse-Doppler radar, for the supply of an Integrated Coastal Surveillance System, to protect the shores of a military base in the country. (Unmanned Airspace)
US and Bahrain conduct naval exercise Neon Defender — www.navaltoday.com
#Bahrain #defence - Forces from the Kingdom of Bahrain and the US began a 10-day military exercise Neon Defender in and off the coast of Bahrain on 8 May. A number of US Navy unmanned systems will participate in the exercise. (Naval Today)
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