Sponsors and Collaborations:
Robotics is the engine of the fourth industrial revolution and has applications in virtually all industries. There is growing popularity of Robotics in the UAE in both academia and industry. KUCARS has excellent potential for further extending the already increasing partnerships with local and international institutions. We have several ongoing or close to fruition partnerships and these are outlined in more detail below (these include ITC, Bayanat, ENEC, AD Police, NCM, Silal, IFHC, Strata, Stanford University and BIT). At a generic level we will plan partnerships through the following steps:
- Technical collaboration: We will establish close collaborations with industry partners, to develop project objectives and requirements.
- Access to resources: Industry partners will typically provide some of the resources required for project execution. In particular, test data is a fundamental requirement to tailor projects to industry needs.
- Field Testing: Testing in real-world settings is necessary to validate developed systems. Such testing can be facilitated through industry partnerships.
- Partnership Establishment: We will develop proposals to solve user driven challenges defined by industry.
At a KUCARS Theme level, we will pursue the following specific partnerships.
Theme 1
- Integrated Transport Center (ITC) Abu Dhabi – We have established the KUCARS AV Lab in collaboration with the ITC and have conducted a proof of concept demo for L4 autonomy passenger mobility. The ITC is now keen to extend the collaboration to the next stage and we are jointly developing a research proposal which will be submitted to the ITC within Year 1 of KUCARS.
- Bayanat – Bayanat has interest in Autonomous Transport and we have had a recent productive meeting with them to pursue collaborations. We will continue with these discussions and plan to develop a proposal for collaboration within Year 1 of KUCARS.
Theme 2
- Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) – We have submitted a proposal to ENEC for using UAVs for nuclear infrastructure inspection. ENEC is keen to pursue the project subject to regulatory approvals. ENEC is currently pursuing this, and we expect a decision in 2023/24.
- AD Police – We are developing a proposal with AD Police for using UAVs for crowd and traffic monitoring. We expect to submit the proposal within Year 1 of KUCARS.
- UAE National Centre of Metrology (NCM) – We are developing a proposal with NCM for testing and developing drones for cloud seeding. We expect to submit and finalize the proposal and conduct field tests with NCM during Year 1 of KUCARS.
- Technology Innovation Institute: We have signed a contract with TII for two years for developing innovative solutions for space rover navigation on the lunar surface. The project commenced in February 2024.
Theme 3
- TII – We have an ongoing sponsored partnership with TII on underwater swarm robotics. We will consolidate this partnership and explore extending it to the next phase, during Year 1 of KUCARS.
- Stanford University – KU/KUCARS is in the process of contract execution for a sponsored collaboration with Stanford University on ‘Marine Robotics for Sustainable Ocean Ecosystems’. We will launch and consolidate this project during Years 1-3 of KUCARS.
- Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) – We have an ongoing partnership with BIT, including a joint Team competing in MBZIRC 2024 (Team Fly Eagle which is one of 5 teams out of over 50 selected for the finals). Based on this success, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology have sponsored a joint KU-BIT project on ‘Port Security Robotics’. We will further consolidate this collaboration during Years 1-3 of KUCARS.
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Theme 4
- Silal (ADQ) – KUCARS has an ASPIRE sponsored project (under ARIFSID) focusing on Agri Robotics. We are now developing a complementary proposal with Silal/ADQ on Greenhouse Autonomy which we plan to conclude during Year 1 of KUCARS. KUCARS Theme 1 will also contribute to this project investigating the use of aerial drones for plant inspection.
- International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) – We have established an exciting collaboration with the IFHC on the application of Robotics for Houbara Bustard conservation. We have submitted two proposals to the IFHC and are currently at contract execution stage; we will launch and consolidate this partnership during Years 1-3 of KUCARS.
- Strata (Mubadala) – KUCARS (and KURI) has made pivotal contributions to the robotics activity within ARIC. KUCARS has provided the low TRL foundation for the manufacturing and rehabilitation robotics projects within ARIC, leading to a very successful ongoing collaboration. We will further consolidate this collaboration during Years 1-3 of KUCARS
