Khalifa University presents research innovations at UMEX2022 in Abu Dhabi

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Khalifa University of Science and Technology on Tuesday announced it is featuring six projects including four from the Emirates ICT Innovation Center (EBTIC), while Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC) – a strategic partnership between Khalifa University, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Tawazun Economic Council, Mubadala Investment Company, and Sandooq Al Watan – is showcasing five startups at the fifth edition of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX) Abu Dhabi 2022.

The Khalifa University booth includes Dexter Robotics which offers the affordable, programmable, and modular CLING robot that can crawl and climb vertical surfaces to perform several tasks with high-load capacity, including painting and drilling, and Macro Hexapod robot that is designed to transport heavy load through extreme terrain autonomously. EBTIC, founded by Khalifa University, Etisalat, and BT Group plc (UK), and supported by the ICT Fund, is presenting four projects including Wasim, Next Generation Resource Planning and Muzamana.

The KIC stand at the ‘Startup Hub’ section is featuring five projects including FabCast Solutions, DroneLeafs, ADIIR, 3D Nano Printing and SPL Solutions. These advanced technology startups – outcomes of research and innovation at Khalifa University – have been incubated at the Khalifa Innovation Center. The startups include DroneLeafs, which has developed an innovative and intelligent flight controller software, and ADIIR, an autonomous ‘terrain ground vehicle’ that performs non-intrusive inspection and identifies oil and gas pipeline defects in real-time and geo-tags them for future maintenance.

Other startups include FabCast Solutions which offers a range of Carbon Nano-Tube sheets customised with a higher performance-to-cost ratio, and Additive Light Fabrication, which offers customised solutions for micro-scale 3D printing of souvenirs using various types of materials and coatings. An EBTIC spin-off and award-winning startup SPL Solutions, which offers a special platform to simplify and streamline software governance, development, and cloud migration, is also part of the KIC stand.

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “These startups and innovations reflect some of the cutting-edge and advanced technology research outcomes from Khalifa University laboratories that have been translated into new commercial ventures. We believe these startups, incubated at Khalifa Innovation Center, and the other research projects at Khalifa University and EBTIC stands will be well-received for their innovative solutions by investors and interested stakeholders visiting UMEX 2022, which provides a professional platform to establish lucrative business relationships and opportunities.”

Among the four EBTIC projects Wasim, a dedicated Arabic language solution, is the region’s first Machine Learning data labelling solution provider for the Arabic market for both national and international clients, while Next Generation Resource Planning is a complete end-to-end resource planning solution that allows proactive planning of a mobile workforce to help optimise deployment, maximise utilisation, and minimise maintenance.

Muzamanh is an EBTIC start-up which offers an intelligent timing solution that reduces the dependency on GPS, as it allows accurate synchronisation by utilising existing standards such as Precision Time Protocol (PTP). Late last year Khalifa University of Science and Technology today announced the launch of ‘Khalifa University Enterprises Company - KUEC’, which will act as the business and investment arm of the University.

The new company is funded by an endowment of Dhs100 million. Khalifa University Enterprises Company will include ‘Innovation Acceleration and Startups’ and ‘KU Ventures’, which will support establishing and operating non-IP technology companies. KUEC also includes the Endowment Fund that will allocate funding for investments and operations.

The mission of Khalifa University Enterprises Company is to boost and speed up business engagements with the University, to accelerate innovation and create an impact on the University's scientific research assets and resources. Khalifa University of Science and Technology is a world-class, research-intensive institution that focuses on producing world leaders and critical thinkers in applied science and engineering. Khalifa University of Science and Technology endeavours to be a catalyst to the growth of Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s rapidly developing knowledge economy as an education destination of choice and a global leader among research-intensive universities.