KU, Lockheed in new AI project; Iraq to spend $100m on Turkish UAVs
Good morning!
Here’s your weekly roundup of Middle East AI News!
Lots of news to share today, although no AI mega-announcement this week, it seems! Khalifa University starts a challenging research project with Lockheed Martin; Amity University Dubai launches its own an AI lab; three UAE teams achieved top 10 rankings in the final of the World Robot Olympiad 2021; and Turkish drones seem to be flying off the shelves!
FYI I've also started an AI voiced podcast of my top three Linkedin newsletter stories from the week (I launched a Linkedin version of this newsletter a few weeks ago). You can listen here, although today's podcast will only be uploaded in a few hours.
Lastly, if you're not already signed up for the world renowned computer scientist, AI visionary and author Dr. Kai-Fu Lee's talk at Abu Dhabi's Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, it will be streamed live today at 5pm GST / 1pm GMT. He will talk about his new book 'AI 2041: Ten Visions for our Future'. Register here.
Stay safe and have a great weekend!
/Carrington
R&D
Khalifa University and Lockheed Martin to collaborate on AI image analysis for aircraft — www.ku.ac.ae
#UAE #aerospace - Khalifa University and Lockheed Martin will collaborate on a Computer Vision & Pattern Recognition (CVPR) project using AI reinforcement learning and training sets. The project aims to develop a system to improve to improve the speed and accuracy of logo inspections during the aircraft production cycle. (Khalifa University)
Amity University Dubai launches an AI lab — gulfnews.com
#UAE #education - Amity University Dubai launched an Artificial Intelligence Lab as part of the University’s Incubation Centre. The lab is expected to have both enable research and study. (Gulf News)
Robotics
UAE teams competing in World Robot Olympiad International 2021 final triumph — www.zawya.com
#UAE #WRO - Three UAE teams achieved top 10 rankings across two competition categories in the final of the World Robot Olympiad 2021 (WRO) held in November. Over 200 national teams from 65 member countries took part. (Zawya)
Khalifa University student team takes 3rd place at World Robot Olympiad — www.ku.ac.ae
#UAE #WRO - A team of students from first-time competitor Khalifa University students won 3rd place at the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) UAE 2021 that was held in October. (Zawya)
Quantum Computing
UAE joins the race to produce a usable quantum computer — www.computerweekly.com
#UAE #Quantum - Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute (TII) formed the Quantum Research Centre (QRC) in partnership with Barcelona-based startup Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech, an international centre of excellence for research into quantum technologies. (Computer Weekly)
Industry 4.0
UAE industrial leaders learn about AI in smart manufacturing — wam.ae
#UAE #Industry4.0 - The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), in collaboration with Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), recently organised an Industry 4.0 and AI workshop for industrial leaders. (Emirates News Agency)
Oil & Gas
Seeq signs industrial digitalisation agreement with Saudi Aramco — www.worldoil.com
#Saudi #US #analytics - US-based manufacturing and IoT advanced analytics startup Seeq Corporation is to provide Saudi Aramco with self-service analytics, predictive modeling data analytics, and visualization tools. (World Oil)
AgriTech
ICBA presents beta version of AI-powered mobile app for plant disorder detection — www.biosaline.org
#UAE #agritech - Dubai-based International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) has demonstrated the beta version of an AI-powered mobile app for detecting plant disorders. The app is aimed at smallholder farmers. (ICBA)
Education
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid honours 240 AI programme graduates — www.thenationalnews.com
#UAE #AI - Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, honoured the successes of more than 240 graduates of the AI programme, organised by the National Programme for Artificial Intelligence and the Kellogg College, part of the University of Oxford. (The National)
Saudi data science camp graduates first students — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #datascience - The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority's data science camp (launched in July) has graduated its first 35 students. The SDAIA academy initiative aims to graduate more than 900 young professionals in data science and artificial intelligence during 2021. (Arab News)
AI Strategy
Towards a common AI strategy for Arab States: Digital Inclusion Week 2021 — en.unesco.org
#Egypt #UNESCO - Egypt’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology hosted a roundtable this month to discuss the challenges and opportunities for drafting a common AI strategy for Arab States. The roundtable was organised in cooperation with the League of Arab States at the ITU and UNESCO Regional Digital Inclusion Week. (UNESCO)
Defence
Iraq allocates $100 million for Turkish drones — www.globaldefensecorp.com
#Iraq #UAVs - Iraq’s Cabinet has reportedly allocated $100 million for the purchase of Bayraktar TB2 drones Turkish combat drones. (Global Defense Corp)
Naval Group launches 'Bani Yas', the first Gowind corvette for UAE Navy, equipped for rotary UAV — www.navalnews.com
#France #UAE #UAVs - French shipbuilder Naval Group announced that it has launched the first Gowind corvette for the UAE Navy. Specifications provided by Naval show the Gowind inventory includes the Schiebel S-100 rotary UAV. (Naval News)
France to monitor Qatar airspace during FIFA World Cup 2022 — www.aerotime.aero
#France #Qatar #WorldCup2022 - An anti-drone system developed by French startup Hologarde will be deployed in Qatar during the FIFA World Cup 2022 to detect, identify and scramble incoming drones, as part of the host's defence agreement with France. (Aerotime)
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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.