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Joint Research Center to Accelerate Agri-Robotic and Automation Innovation in Agriculture and to Provide Training for Students and Farmers.   Khalifa University of Science and Technology and UAE’s leading agri-tech food company Silal Food and Technology today announced they have signed a collaboration agreement to create a joint Center of Excellence in Agri-Robotics and Automation. The partnership will leverage robotics and automation advancement to transform the agriculture sector in the UAE and beyond.   The agreement was signed by Professor Sir John O’Reilly, President, Khalifa University, and Salmeen Al Ameri, CEO, Silal Food, in Abu Dhabi. According to the agreement,…

Teaching robots to follow a moving object is more difficult than you think, requiring complex algorithms and a different way of thinking.   Take a look around. What do you see? Most of us have two eyes and we use those eyes to collect light that reflects off the objects around us. The eyes convert that light into electrical signals that are processed by our brain. This builds a representation of the world and we use that to navigate during our everyday lives. Even robots that are the most like humans in appearance, however, don’t see the world the way…

Khalifa University of Science and Technology has announced it has won the right to host the Middle East’s first-ever IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), one of the world’s largest and most impactful robotics research conferences, in Abu Dhabi in 2024.   The Khalifa University bid, submitted in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority and the UAE Ministry of Education, won against global competition from other leading international universities. Abu Dhabi’s status as a major conference destination, the emirate’s focus on supporting new technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence systems, Khalifa University’s Robotics…

The features of a cell nucleus can reveal much about the health of a cell, but finding the nucleus among the background noise of a tissue sample can be laborious and time-consuming when done manually. Khalifa University researchers are exploring how AI can be leveraged to speed up the process of detecting a cell’s nucleus.   Known as the cell’s ‘command center’, the nucleus is a large organelle that stores the cell’s DNA. The nucleus controls all of the cell’s activities, such as growth and metabolism, using the DNA’s genetic information.   Pathologists use features of the cell nucleus to…

Khalifa University PhD student Yusra Alkendi shared her research in robotics and autonomous systems during a technical session on Sunday, 4 April, at the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) R&D Center, the research arm of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) Solar Park, the world’s largest single site solar park located in Dubai.   During her presentation to the DEWA R&D Center researchers, Yusra presented some of the major research projects being carried out at the KU Center of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (KUCARS).    She presented the center’s research activities under the theme of “Robotic Systems for…

  The dust may have settled in the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) arena but the ingenuity and ambition demonstrated by the teams competing continues. Efforts are now being directed towards further research and development discussions as insights related to the 2020 challenges are prepared for publication in an upcoming special edition of the Journal of Field Robotics.   The Journal of Field Robotics special issue MBZIRC 2020 – Challenges in Autonomous Field Robotics – will be published in early 2021 and researchers involved in MBZIRC 2020 are encouraged to submit their work. Topics of interest include robotics…

MBZIRC 2020 Reiterates Relevance to Future Smart City Solutions in ‘Security and Defence’, ‘Construction and Infrastructure’, and ‘Fire-Fighting and Emergency Response’ The Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) 2020, the second edition of the prestigious biennial international competition, drew to a successful conclusion in Abu Dhabi, reiterating its relevance to future smart city solutions including security and defense, construction and infrastructure, as well as fire-fighting and emergency response. The three-day Challenge witnessed the participation of 32 teams from 17 countries, selected out of 134 teams that had originally applied to compete, while gathering a large assembly of more than…

Elite Networking Event Gathers MBZIRC 2020 Teams and Industry Representatives to Discuss Role of Competitions in Advancing Future Innovations The first-ever Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC) Symposium got under way in Abu Dhabi today with more than 400 international robotics and artificial intelligence experts in attendance, discussing the role of competitions in advancing future innovations. The two-day symposium (26-27 February) at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC) offers the MBZIRC 2020 teams an opportunity to showcase their projects directly to industry representatives, in order to further increase interest and raise awareness, while facilitating opportunities for research collaborations.…

The MBZIRC is an international robotics competition, to be held every two years with total prize and team sponsorship of USD5 million.  KU and KUCARS are the main organizers of the competition. The second edition of MBZIRC will take place in February 2020. More information about MBZIRC 2020 can be found at: www.mbzirc.com

Dr. Jorge Dias, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, shared KU’s advanced robotics research at the International Symposium on Cross-modal Learning in Humans and Robots, on 28 November at the University of Hamburg in Germany. His presentation, titled ‘Visual Multi-Spectral Semantic Analysis and Prediction’ provided insight into some of the recent robotics work being carried out at Khalifa University’s Center on Autonomous Robotic Systems, specifically in the area of surveillance of urban environments using low-cost unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with a diversity of imaging sensors, including standard cameras, infrared cameras, and more. During his presentation, Dr. Dias also highlighted…

Drones are big business. Countries around the world are pouring investment into this relatively nascent technology, hoping for revolutionary change across industries, particularly in construction. While dozens of industries use drones, the fastest growing commercial adopters come from the construction industry. This is a major economic sector, plagued with inefficiencies and low productivity; robotics and automated systems have the potential to address these shortcomings. Drone use on the job site has skyrocketed, surging 239 percent, but usage stems mainly from project managers and superintendents bringing drones on board to help track projects and collect real-time data about progress. There’s more…

Abu Dhabi has won the bid led by Khalifa University to host the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in 2024. IROS is one of the world’s largest (attracting around 4000 attendees) and most prestigious robotics research conferences, and it will be the first time in the conference’s 30+ year history to be hosted outside North America, Europe and far east Asia. Winning the bid to host IROS 2024 demonstrates Khalifa University’s internationally-recognized expertise in the field of robotics and intelligent systems. KU’s Center for Autonomous Robotic Systems (KUCARS), directed by Professor Lakmal Seneviratne, is a flagship…

The testbed of a new compliant joint made with springs to reduce impact in interaction As we stand on the brink of the 4th Industrial Revolution, technological innovations such as the variable stiffness actuators developed by Dr. Dongming Gan bring us ever closer to safe human-robotic interaction. A team of researchers at the KU Center for Autonomous Robotic Systems (KUCARS) are creating robots that can co-exist and co-operate with humans in a safe and efficient way. Their work has so far produced five papers and two patent applications for robots offering a wide range of applications in many different fields, including…

 Three Innovative Autonomous Vehicle Research Projects Aimed at Making AVs Safer Were Featured at Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport Khalifa University faculty and students showcased three cutting-edge projects that are advancing the state-of-the-art in autonomous vehicles and smart transportation during the Dubai World Congress for Self-Driving Transport, which took place from 15-16 October in Dubai. The congress brought together top experts, policymakers, technology developers, researchers and academia to exchange ideas and proposals about connected autonomous vehicles. Dr. Majid Khonji, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and his students presented three projects, including a jointly developed KU-Korea Advanced…

Dr. Majid Khonji, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, presents his research on autonomous vehicles at the IJCAI in Macao, China Programming self-driving cars so that they can navigate unknown roads safely is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the autonomous vehicle (AV) industry. Uncertain environments, such as extreme weather and unknown roads, or when errors occur in an AV’s sensors or cameras, pose several technical challenges to an AV’s perception algorithms – the algorithms that allow a car to understand what it “sees.” “A robust AV perception algorithm should account for different sources of uncertainty and should provide…

Although the most sophisticated military and commercial drones cost millions of dollars, small drones for hobbyists are now very inexpensive and widely available. Most people purchasing a drone have no nefarious masterplan in mind: they’re enchanted by the use of a drone for a unique photographic perspective, smooth video footage, or even racing. Essentially, they’re a fun toy in many cases. Beyond entertainment purposes, however, this technology has a big future. While the market for consumer drones may still be in its infancy (despite a lowered price point), drones can be used by farmers to save time scouting their crops…

The first progress reports from teams competing in the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Competition promise an exciting tournament in 2020 For autonomous drones to be useful in tasks such as disaster zones or as first responders, they will need to be able to fly fast, far and without human oversight, often in environments where they can’t rely on external guidance systems like GPS. It’s this autonomy that’s the biggest challenge facing the teams competing in the 2020 Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Competition (MBIZRC), as their drones take on three intense challenges and a final grand challenge combining all…

Khalifa University will host the Mohamed Bin Zayed International Robotics Challenge (MBZIRC), one of the world’s largest and most prestigious robotics competitions, set to begin February 2020. The MBZIRC is an international biennial competition that selects over 20 robotics teams from top universities around the world to compete in Abu Dhabi during a 3-day event, where they will compete for USD 5 Million worth of total prize and team sponsorship. MBZIRC encourages innovation and demands technical expertise as teams align their project plan to stringent reporting protocols in advance of a bold and yet practical competition. Particularly relevant to metropolises…

Khalifa University’s Dr. Lakmal Seneviratne leads panel on Real World Robotics to discuss current challenges to the mass deployment of robots across industries The global economy is entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The physical and information worlds are converging, leading to rapid advancements in digitalization, automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and crucially, robotics. The robotic transformation now underway is unlocking substantial new economic growth opportunities, but the mass deployment of robots is still concentrated in niche areas, like the automotive industry, electronics, and machinery production. “There are major technological and societal challenges that need to be addressed in order to unleash…

Special Sessions to Examine Areas of Future Research for Co-Funding with Government Khalifa University will be hosting the three-day Mubadala-SRC Forum on artificial Intelligence (AI) in Abu Dhabi in order to define future research and development programs of AI hardware systems. To be held from 15-16 April 2019 at the Khalifa University Main Campus, the forum will have representations from regional and international technology leaders such as Intel, GlobalFoundries, IBM, NXP, Arm, Synopsys, Siemens, Texas Instruments, IMEC, and LETI, as well as Mubadala Investment Company and SRC. Keynotes and panel discussions will focus on identifying major challenges, opportunities, and the most…

Focus on Research into Artificial Intelligence to Develop Futuristic Devices that Bring Long-Term Benefits to UAE Cutting-edge research advances in robotics and drones-related technologies are being showcased by Khalifa University at the 14th edition of the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX 2019) and the fifth edition of Naval Defense Exhibition (NAVDEX 2019) in Abu Dhabi. Organized by (ADNEC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Defense and UAE Armed Forces, the twin events themed ‘Defense for Security and Safety’ run from 17-21 February 2019 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). One of the projects on display at Khalifa University stand…