Dubai World Challenge open for entries; KAUST remains focused on deeptech

Good morning!

Lots of interesting stories from around the region to share today, across driverless vehicles, R&D, healthcare, robotics, policy, digital economy, digital transformation and defence.

There may also be a big urban mobility announcement to share later today, but I'll have to include that in my Linkedin newsletter if it happens. No promises though! 😃

Stay safe and have a great day!

/Carrington

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Autonomous Vehicles

Registration opens for Dubai World Challenge — www.wam.ae

#UAE #AVs - Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched the Dubai World Challenge for Self-Driving Transport 2023, the third edition of the unique driverless transport competition, this year's submissions are to focus on autonomous buses. (Emirates News Agency)

Officials discuss pilot plan for putting self-driving cars on Saudi roads — saudigazette.com.sa

#Saudi #AVs - The Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), organised a workshop about autonomous vehicles last week. The workshop discussed ways of introducing self-driving cars to the Kingdom on a trial basis. (Saudi Gazette)

R&D

KAUST focuses on deep tech, not fintech, says VP — www.arabnews.com

#Saudi #R&D - King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) vice president of #innovation and economic development Kevin Cullen this week shared some updates on the research university's planned $200 million fund, which it will use to scale-up its deeptech investments. (Arab News)

Healthcare

Hospital uses robotic arm to conduct 'less painful' knee replacement surgery — www.zawya.com

#UAE #roboticsurgery - Healthpoint, a Mubadala Health partner has conducted a robotic assisted knee replacement surgery using ‘Mako’ robotic arm by Stryker. (Khaleej Times)

Robotics

Balqa university students win 2 prizes in first national robotics competition — www.jordannews.jo

#Jordan #robotics - Students from the Faculty of AI and the Faculty of Engineering Technology at Al-Balqa Applied University won two prizes in the First National Sumo Robotics Competition, according to Al-Mamlaka TV. (Jordan News)

Meet robot Rabdan, made by talented Emirati schoolteacher — gulfnews.com

#UAE #robotics - Latifa Al Hamadi, a design and technology teacher at Al Sila school in Abu Dhabi, spent three years creating a robot called ‘Rabdan’ that can interact with humans. (Gulf News)

AI Policy

Egypt takes part in OECD AI governance session — mcit.gov.eg

#Egypt #governance - Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), participated in the First Session of the Working Party on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance (AIGO) of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (MCIT)

Digital Economy

The UAE tops the Arab index of digital economy — news.middleeast-24.com

#UAE #Saudi - The third edition of the “Arab Digital Economy Index 2022”, produced by the The Arab Federation for Digital Economy, showed the UAE topped the index, followed by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, and Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. (Middle East 24)

Digital Transformation

SAUDIA chooses King Abdullah Economic City as home for digital transformation — www.zawya.com

#Saudi #digitaltransformation - Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) has made King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) the new home of several digital transformation-related divisions within the compan. .The company’s new divisional location can accommodate 1,000 employees. (Zawya)

Defence

Iran unveils underground drone base — www.france24.com

#Iran #drones - Iranian state television on Saturday broadcast footage of an air force base for drones under the Zagros mountain range in the west of the country. according to a Iranian state television. (AFP)

Quadcopter suicide drones used in attack on Iran military research target - NYT — www.iranintl.com

#Iran #droneattack - Suicide drones were used to target an Iranian military research facility last week, according to the New York Times, citing three Iranian sources and a US official. (Iran Int)

IDF shot down Egyptian drone over Negev — www.jpost.com

#Egypt #Israel #drones - Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) fighter jets shot down an Egyptian drone after crossing into Israeli airspace, because its operator lost control of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The IDF coordinated with Egyptian defence forces before shooting it down. (Jerusalem Post)

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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.