FedEx launches Dubai delivery bot trial; Dubai air tours via eVTOL in 2026?
Good morning!
Lots of interesting news to share today. Among them, these top urban mobility stories:
Falcon Aviation Services signs agreement to buy 35 of Eve eVTOLs to run air tours in Dubai;
FedEx starts a robo-delivery trial in Dubai Silicon Oasis; and
Dubai Municipality begins mapping Dubai for use by driverless cars.
Scroll down for more AI and emerging tech news from around the region.
Stay safe and have a great day!
/Carrington
Urban Air Mobility
Falcon plans to operate tourist flights in Dubai with Eve eVTOL air taxi by 2026 — www.flightglobal.com
#UAE #eVTOL - Abu Dhabi-based Falcon Aviation Services has signed a letter of intent to acquire 35 Eve electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to launch tourist flights in Dubai in 2026. Falcon says it will work Eve Air Mobility an Embraer company to help develop the UAEs urban air mobility ecosystem. (Flight Global)
Autonomous Vehicles
FedEx launches first international trial of Roxo, the FedEx SameDay Bot, in Dubai — www.zawya.com
#UAE #logistics - FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company, will start trials of Roxo™, the FedEx SameDay Bot, in Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO). The announcement follows the signing of a collaboration agreement with Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ) and previously with Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). (Zawya)
Dubai begins mapping streets for driverless car use — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #digitalmapping - Dubai Municipality has begun a digital mapping project to prepare the city for driverless cars. Google Maps-style vehicles were out on the streets as part of the effort. (The National)
Venture Capital
Jordan, UAE launch $100 million tech-focused venture capital fund — www.jordantimes.com
#Jordan #UAE #funding - Jordan's Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MoDEE) and Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ) have launched a technology-focused $100 million venture capital fund. (Jordan Times)
Healthcare
SEHA implements new AI technology at 11 centres — www.wam.ae
#UAE #retinopathy - Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) has implemented AI systems at 11 of its healthcare centres to provide a new service to facilitate early detection and intervention of retinopathy (disease of the eye's retina). (Emirates News Agency)
Egypt mulls purchasing AI medical devices from General Electric — www.egypttoday.com
#Egypt #cancer - Egypt's Ministry of Health may procure AI medical devices from General Electric (GE). Egypt is particularly interested in devices that screen patients for brain tumors without carrying out any invasive procedures. (Egypt Today)
R&D
Petuum and Abu Dhabi-based Inception Institute for AI partner for advanced AI development — www.cdomagazine.tech
#UAE #apps - Inception Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IIAI), the research subsidiary of G42, and Petuum, the creator of the world's first composable platform for MLOps, have announced a partnership with to build powerful AI applications. (CDO)
Robotics
3.2mn sqm robotics park in Rusayl soon — www.muscatdaily.com
#Oman #robotics - Sandy Valley Robotics has signed a deal to build a 3.2 million square metre robotics park in Rusayl Industrial City. The developer says that the park will have a five-star hotel, a theme park, cable cars, a robotics research institute and a robotics themed shopping centre. (Muscat Daily)
Cloud
e& unit launches Enterprise AI as a Service — www.zawya.com
#UAE #CloudAI - e& enterprise, part of e& (the company formerly known as Etisalat), has entered into a three-year partnership with AI Cloud technology company DataRobot to launch an Enterprise AI as a Service (AlaaS) offering. (Zawya)
Saudi Cloud Computing Company launches services in the region — www.zawya.com
#Saudi #cloud - Saudi Cloud Computing Company (“SCCC”), a new joint venture formed by Alibaba Cloud, Saudi Telecom Company (stc) Group, eWTP Arabia Capital, the Saudi Company for Artificial Intelligence (SCAI), and the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE), has launched its services. (Zawya)
Education
ADIO’s Innovation Programme brings ANSR and Talent500 to Abu Dhabi to shape the future of work — www.mediaoffice.abudhabi
#UAE #funding - ADIO has formed individual partnerships with ANSR and Talent500 as part of its AED 2 billion (USD 545 million) Innovation Programme to drive innovation in high-growth areas of the economy. ANSR and Talent500 will set up regional headquarters and innovation centres in Abu Dhabi aimed at developing technological solutions to support global workforce transformation. (Abu Dhabi Media Office)
Prince Sultan University offers cybersecurity, data science program — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #education - College of Computer and Information Sciences at Prince Sultan University has launched two technical certifications on cybersecurity and data science. (Arab News)
Drones
Real estate solutions firm takes stake in UAE-based GeoDrones Aerial Services — www.zawya.com
#UAE #investment - Real estate solutions provider Land Sterling has taken a stake in UAE-based GeoDrones Aerial Services in order to add more drone services to its portfolio. (Zawya)
Omani students develop drone to sanitise public areas efficiently — www.muscatdaily.com
#Oman #drones - Four students of University of Technology and Applied Sciences in Shinas on the north of Oman's Batinah coast have developed a drone to sanitise public places. (Muscat Daily)
Cybersecurity
New white paper by stc Group and Huawei highlights AI security challenges — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #cybersecurity - A new AI security white paper by stc Group and Huawei sheds light on the challenges enterprises face in securing emerging technology. (Arab News)
Energy
Abu Dhabi's Hub71, AIQ partner to accelerate AI-driven transformation of the energy industry — gulfbusiness.com
#UAE #energy - Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, is to partner with AIQ, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) AI joint venture with Group 42 (G42), to explore the development of new AI solutions that support a sustainable energy future. (Gulf Business)
Smart Cities
Oman invites bids for master planning Nizwa and Sohar smart cities — www.zawya.com
#Oman #tenders - Oman’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning has invited bids from international consultants to prepare detailed masterplan and design for smart cities at Sohar and Nizwa. Bid submission closes on 11 July 2022. (Zawya)
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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.