UAE to develop autonmous tugs; AI to add $133b to Saudi GDP
Good morning,
Here’s this week’s roundup of Middle East AI News!
It's a real potpourri of news this week with stories from around the region on agriculture, finance, conservation, R&D, shipping and more.
Have a great weekend!
/Carrington
Startup News
Over 30 startups participate in Innovation Hackathon at AREA 2071 — wam.ae
#UAE #startups - Spanish AI healthcare startup MMG was one of the winners of Phase 1 of the Startup Innovation Hackathon at AREA 2071 in Dubai, which say the participation of more than 30 startups from across the country and abroad. (WAM)
Shipping
UAE set to develop world's first autonomous tugs — www.rivieramm.com
#UAE #USVs - Abu Dhabi Ports is working with naval architects Robert Allan to develop autonomous commercial marine tugs. Together they will research and produce a remotely-controlled tugboat that could be fully unmanned and operate within a wide spectrum of autonomy. (River Maritime Media)
Digital Economy
AI to add more than $133bn to Saudi Arabia’s GDP — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #digitaleconomy - AI is expected to contribute an estimated SR500 billion ($133 billion) to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product by 2030, according to the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA). (Arab News)
Data insights, AI will help Saudi generate extra $10 billion — www.zawya.com
#Saudi #digitaleconomy - Data and artificial intelligence (AI) could generate an additional $10 billion in government revenues for Saudi Arabia by harnessing data insights to help guide government decisions, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) said. (Zawya)
R&D
Saudi to develop 21 military technologies by 2030 — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #R&D - The General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) has identified 21 military technologies to be developed by the sector over the next seven years. The projects fall into seven categories including artificial intelligence. (Arab News)
AI helps create street maps from satellite imagery — www.gpsworld.com
#Qatar #US #R&D - Researchers at MIT and the Qatar Computing Research Institute have developed an artificial intelligence model called RoadTagger, which uses satellite imagery to tag road features in digital maps, such as lane counts, which are essential for reliable navigation. (GPS World)
Conservation
UAE zoo to use AI to save rare wildlife — www.thenational.ae
#UAE #wildlife - Animal-identification software using skin and facial-recognition technology is being tested at Al Ain Zoo to help conserve vulnerable species. The software allows mobile-phone photos of animals to be cross-referenced with existing information within a zoo database. (The National)
Finance
Deem Finance implements AI-enabled scorecard system for credit applications — www.zawya.com
#UAE #finance - Deem, the UAE-based digitally-led financial services provider, in partnership with Singapore-headquartered StraitsBridge Advisors, has implemented a high performance AI enabled real-time application scorecard system with the capability to continuously recalibrate and update their scorecard model. (Zawya)
Coronavirus
Abu Dhabi launches coronavirus website — gulfnews.com
#UAE #coronavirus - The Abu Dhabi Department of Health has launched an official website to keep residents informed about the coronavirus outbreak, developed by UAE-based artificial intelligence services firm, Saal.ai. (Gulf News)
Agriculture
Oman government meeting reviews AI use in agricultural sector — omannews.gov.om
#Oman #agriculture - A joint meeting was held between Oman's Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Ministry of Technology and Communications, the Directorate General of One Million Date Palm Project, and Oman Technology Fund, to discuss further use of AI in the country's agricultural sector. (ONA)
Events
Saudi Arabia holds inaugural NEOM Mobility Summit — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #smartcities - NEOM — the company behind Saudi Arabia’s $500 billion megacity — has convened the world’s leading companies and thought leaders at the inaugural NEOM Mobility Summit 2020 from March 11 to 13. (Arab News)
IoT conference takes place in Riyadh — www.arabnews.com
#Saudi #events -Saudi IoT, a conference about the Internet of Things (IoT), organised by King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), took place in Riyadh this week. (Arab News)
Event Calendar
19 Mar - AI Lab Government Networking event - by ADDA - #Abu Dhabi
30-31 Mar - Global AI Summit - #Riyadh
2 Apr - AI Lab Government Networking event - by ADDA - #Abu Dhabi
13-14 Apr - World AI Show - by Trescon - #Dubai
16 Apr - AI Lab Government Networking event - by ADDA - #Abu Dhabi